*^cF 



^0* 



*^0* 



*f * : of - ^ > 




<■ <5< 



\ 



^. > * 






<-^ 



1$ 



^ , , 



G°\ 













"^o* : 



<H Q 






^ ^ , 



^ <& 






^ °- 







^ 



^ * 



^^ 




'W 

' ^ 






%■■<?' 



<y > 







# * 









%d< * 



*\ ^ °- 



**<J 



& 

% ^ 













; "^.o* : 



«.> ^ 











■ W .*& 



V<V 






/;£ '^i-,:^ 



-, , 











■A 


















^.o^ 






^ <3* -. 



^°- 






«■ *C* ,V. ^ v. * • '•*• 2* v. 






\^ 



: ^ : 






& 






\P\, ...% 









-^ 












Ho. .4 ^ 






■J 









^ : 










V v ^ * ° , -^ 






X ^ : 



^ 









-O k 



"W r * 



^ ^> 







/\"«^.' 



<* 




d>\ 







^% ^/ 






v r /% 



^ ^^ .•' <&.<efr 



.<*!' "^'.v^*' :> > & V.,'.<^" : \<#V-^ 



^ 



' ■ 















\> » it * o „ < 






V.^ 









* .r^ 







V % 



%. 



w? /^:V<*: 















^ s ^ 






^V 






F °"- - : </ 



«. 
# 



%* 

#% 



* / 



\^ 






'.%. 












feaB* = ^ o. 






•^- v "<^. 




^ 

^6^ 



G°\ 






5> °^> ^ 




V 

^ 

^ 









^^- ^ - -~ 









'^"V: ,.v 



•^o< 



^■% 



'^n. •»,;%" w 



^^ %..# .*; 









# % ■ 










•-^ 



^ d< 



'^o^ ; 



^ 




i S. CoTTUn L6SICT1 t •-, 



' 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY 



WORLD'S FAIR 



DESIGNED TO ACCOMPANY 



A CHROIO-LITHOGRAPHIC PICTURE, 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF 



1$x\\w mmhh fa Imeritan €\%tm, 



AT THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 



% €m$M\m frnm Tahiti mtit $ttmit §mim, 
BY CHARLES T. v RODGEES, OE LOUISIANA. 

"WESTWARD THE STAE OF EMPIRE TAKES ITS WAT." 



PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED BY JOHN J. HAWKINS. 

18 52. 



A 



OBJECTS REPRESENTED IN THE CHROMO-LITHOGRAPH, 
Taken Laterally, viz., From Right to Left. 



Birt's Solar Compass. 

Service of plate presented to E. K. 

Collins, Esq. 
Goodyear' s India Rubber Globe of 

the earth. 
Bache's Balance. 
Howland's Bell Telegraph. 
& 7. Taylor's Gothic windows of 

Transparent Soap. 
Simmons' s Edge Tools — Axes, &c. 
Brown & Wells's Tools — Braces and 

Bits. 
Colt's Repeating Pistol. 
Palmer's Artificial Leg. 
Power's Greek Slave. 
Ericsson's Sea Lead. 
Centre Piece : Yacht America. 
Iron Bridge of the New York Iron 

Bridge Company, in the back 

ground of the Centre Piece. 
Ericsson's Alarm Barometer. 
Bust of Hobbs, and Day & Newell' s 

Parautoptic Lock. 
Schooley & Hough's Ham. 
Prouty & Mears's Plow. 
Bond & Son's Astronomical Clock. 
Power & Weightman's Chemicals. 
Louderback's Peaches. 
Borden's preparation called Meat 

Biscuit. 



24. Amoskeag Manufacturing Company's 

Tickings. 

25. Lawrence, Stone & Co.'s Tartan 

made from native wool. 

26. Chilson's Hot Air Furnace. 

27. Dick's Anti-Friction Press. 

28. Lowell Machine Shop's Self-Acting 

Lathe. 

29. Portrait of Brady, Daguerreotypist. 

30. Watson's Sporting Wagon. 

31. McCormick's Reaper. 

32. Storr's Bookbinding Machine. 

33. Lerow & Blodgett's Sewing Ma- 

chine. 

34. Woodbury's Wood Planing, Tongue- 

ing and Grooving Machine. 

35. Eisonbrant's Flutes. 

36. Gemunder's Violins. 

37. Crystal Palace. 

38. Nunn's & Clark's 7 oc've Piano Forte. 

39. Albro & Hoyt's Floor Cloth, be- 

neath the Piano Forte. 

40. Herring's Patent Salamander Safe. 
Round the Centre Piece are grouped 

the Cotton Plant, the Sugar Cane, the 
Tobacco Plant, Rice, Wheat and Indian 
Corn, emblematic of the " Produce," 
for which prizes were awarded to the 
State of Maryland, and citizens from 
different sections of the country. 



30 J Baker's Saddlery and Harness. 



a,\ 



0' 



ft 



\ 






tyxiiatt. 



s-y 



The great industrial exhibition, which was held in London in 1851, presented 
to every lover of his species a spectacle of surpassing interest, not only from the 
evidence it afforded of the spirit of the age in which we live, which is that of peace 
and progress, but also from the hope to which it gave birth of the benign influence 
it was to shed on the future destiny of man. The world had too long been governed 
on the coercive principle. Force and fraud, and their destroying agent the spirit 
of war, had too long divided and harassed the human family. The doctrine of natu- 
ral enmity between different races of mankind, on account of the remoteness or 
proximity of their relative geographical confines — for each is, as occasion serves, 
with ready tact referred to by unprincipled legislators as a justifiable casus belli — 
had too long been preached. It was reserved to a very recent period of the present 
age to fall back on the original bond and pact of society — that which reclaimed the 
savage from his native wilds, and which was reiterated and sanctified at the natal 
hour of the Founder of Christianity, " peace and good-will to men." The Peace 
Society originally formed in Great Britain, and which now numbers in its ranks the 
greatest intellects of the age, had the high honor of beginning the revolution in 
men's sentiments relative to their true mission on earth; and it was mainly at the 
suggestion of that body that the magnificent, project of the union of the world's 
industry under one vast roof, was taken up by the hand of royal power, and prose- 
cuted to consummation in the renowned Crystal Palace. The nations of the earth 
were invited, with the expressed view of knitting them together in the bonds of 
peace and concord, to concentrate in that wondrous edifice the products of their 
industry, and thereby for mutual good to enter into a friendly and honorable 
rivalry, in the useful exercise of those faculties with which they had been endowed 
by their beneficent Creator, for the best of purposes. How far mankind are capable 
of appreciating this new principle of action, this enlarged system of ethics, first pro- 
pounded by the Peace Society, was shown by the avidity with which a response was 
given to the invitation, and by the abundance of articles in every variety of human 
ingenuity which were furnished for display. The opportunities thus afforded for 
comparison, for research, for investigation, must have- been of inestimable advantage. 
The egotism so natural to all whose sphere of observation is limited, whose research 
is confined within the narrow bounds of their own clime or country, here stood cor- 
rected in presence of so much varied excellence. Men learned to respect each other 
as beings of one common scale of attributes, susceptible of being more or less de- 

(3) 



veloped, according to the diligence with which they are cultivated. The skilful 
artisan of London or Paris found there was much to admire and something to learn 
even in the productions of those nations which he had been accustomed to despise ; 
and he stood unconsciously self-rebuked, as he spontaneously gave expression to his 
surprise before some striking proof of ingenuity by the plodding Russian or patient 
Chinese. The whole exhibition, indeed, although teeming with wonders in art and 
science, was instinct with wholesome meaning in one particular. It was emphati- 
cally pregnant with one great lesson of humility to individual pride, respectively 
teaching us all that our particular one is not the only great and good branch of the 
human family; that our particular talisman of art, of science, or of industry, by 
which we change the productions of nature into objects of beauty and utility, is not 
the sole standard of excellence ; in short, that traces of the inventive faculty in 
every gradation, short of that which we all strive after, but which ever escapes us, 
since it is unattainable — absolute perfection — are to be found in the abode of man 
under every sky, from China to Peru, from the confines of the Frozen Ocean to the 
sweltering regions of Java or Sumatra. It taught us, from these premises, that as 
a necessary consequence mutual respect and mutual love should be cherished by us 
all, in our intercourse with one another ; that in spite of the sophisms of the greedy 
politician, or the ambitious legislator, we were but members of one widely extended 
family, and therefore, in a philosophical point of view, homogeneous links — here and 
there a trifle brighter than ordinary by accidental friction — of that intellectual chain 
forged by the Almighty, wherewith he has encircled this globe of the earth. The 
fact is, bring man in contact with man, how wide soever be the space which separates 
their relative birth-places, and by a law of nature their hearts will gravitate together 
in benevolence and love, from a consciousness that, as social beings, they are mutu- 
ally dependent on each other for aid and comfort. The great exhibition of last year 
was, to our fancy, an experiment on a grand scale to try the force of that law ; it 
was a test of the ripeness of the age ; it was an almost divinely inspired effort to 
accelerate the coming of that good time, when universal peace shall prevail. Under 
this aspect, it will form an epoch in the history of the world that shall beam with a 
lustre sui generis — all its own ; whose purity shall be in striking contrast with the 
baleful fires of the battles, sieges, and other starting points where destruction reigns 
supreme, with which its pages are polluted. The ball has been set in motion, and 
it will continue to roll. Two other grand concentrations of the world's industry 
have been already announced, viz. that in New York, for next year, and the one in 
the north of Europe, at Stockholm or St. Petersburgh, simultaneously, or within a 
year or so of each other. May they each bear fruits as precious to humanity as 
those borne by the Crystal Palace. 

The humanizing effects which the philosopher and the philanthropist anticipate 
from great collections of human industry, drawn from different regions of the earth, 
are thus felicitously shadowed forth, in an extract we take from the London Illus- 
trated News : — 

" All the arts of life are founded on some principles common to the whole human 
race, and are practised in a similar manner. From science being every where the 
same, we draw the inference that the minds of all men are somewhat alike. They 



everywhere receive similar impressions from the external world. "We all recognise 
at once the objects a skilful painter places before us. From the same circumstance 
we also draw the inference that the external cause of man's impressions is every- 
where the same. In other words, one spirit animates the whole universe, lives in 
the external world, and moulds the intellect — is adapted to man, and man to it. He 
comes everywhere gradually to comprehend it in the same manner. There are not 
two astronomies, two mathematics, or two chemistries — one for England and another 
for Italy ; there are not separate sciences for every distinct country, but only one 
science for all. This similarity or uniformity of knowledge constitutes the true 
brotherhood of mankind. They have similar wants, and learn similar means of 
gratifying them. They have, therefore, a common parentage. Their moral nature 
is similar, and the external world is the same for all. 

" These common features and intimate relationships were known before the Exhi- 
bition ; but it has intensified them all. It has set nothing aside, undone nothing, 
but confirmed and ratified what before existed. It has especially made evident and 
palpable to all, the universal prevalence of a common industry, directed to similar 
purposes, and guided by similar rules. The differences between the productions of / 
China and France, of Hindostan and the United States, are not so remarkable to! 
reflecting minds as their .similarity. Not only similar arts exist in the most distant 
countries, but similar inventions have taken place ; and — not to speak of the art — 
of making paper, earthenware, and ships, gunpowder, printing, and bank-notes have 
all been invented in China as in Europe. The great feature of a common parentage, 
made plain to all by the literature of the Exhibition, cannot fail to influence the fate 
of mankind. As the common knowledge of the one external cause extends, moulding 
the minds of all alike, and as the common wants and common means of gratifying 
them become known, mankind must become more closely linked together. The 
friendliness displayed at Hyde Park between Chinese, Tunisians, Germans, Spaniards, 
Americans, etc., is obviously no fortuitous event, but the necessary result of their 
common knowledge and common pursuits. From such facts, it is to be inferred that 
the laws which govern the universe, to which the progress of society is in conformity, 
are opposed in the long run to the continual political separation of mankind into 
adverse and hostile nations. We see, in fact, that the separation is lessening and 
disappearing. The Exhibition has both confirmed the fact, and helped much to 
explain the law on which it depends. Now, as all legislation and statesmanship look 
to the future, the Exhibition, with its literature, will be of political value. It pro- 
claims as a great truth, that no legislation can be durable, no statesmanship benefi- 
cial, which does not fall in, like the Exhibition itself, with the general progress 
towards acknowledging and promoting a common brotherhood." 

Our country, the United States of America, was well represented at the World's 
Fair ; and the triumphs she achieved there, through the genius and industry of her 
citizens, stand out in bold relief on its records. Still, there seemed to us something 
wanting, notwithstanding the imperishable character of those triumphs, toward their 
complete display to the admiring eyes of the masses. We saw a means of supplying 
this desideratum, by means of the imitative arts, and we resolved to present to the 
public as accurate a delineation of the most prominent among the contributions of 
our fellow -citizens, as could well be executed, within the limits of a tolerably large- 
sized picture. We would have preferred to give to every one of them pictorially 
" a local habitation and a name ;" but it was not possible to find room for so many. 
As it is, we have made as judicious a selection as possible, having in the prosecution 
of our enterprise consulted the judgment of some highly competent persons, as well 
as taken mature counsel with ourselves. This scheme we have carried to completion, 



6 PREFACE. 

and now submit for the patronage of our fellow citizens an exquisitely finished pic- 
ture, in the new and beautiful art of Chromo-Lithography, representing prize speci- 
mens of American skill, which have challenged the admiration of the world, and 
to which universal homage was rendered at the great gathering in London last year. 
One of them, it is true, was not really — that is, bodily, in timber and in canvas — 
within the precincts of the Crystal Palace ; but she filled a larger space in the mind's 
eye of every visitant there, than a score of the most gorgeous objects which it con- 
tained. She capped the climax of American glory on the occasion. Need we say 
that we allude to the yacht par excellence — the craft peerless in beauty, as she is in 
speed, the America of immortal memory ? The connoisseur in the fine arts will 
notice the beautiful manner in which the picture has been executed; its softness 
•of color vying with the finest oil painting, and its minute accuracy challenging 
comparison with the best steel engraving. The artist employed on it is the first in 
his profession, and has been long known to the European world as unsurpassed in 
his taste and skill. 

The present letter press work, subsidiary to the picture, comprises a series of 
articles illustrative and explanatory of the different objects represented, extracted 
from various journals in England and America, together with speeches of eminent 
statesmen and other remarkable personages, whose opinions carry weight with them 
on subjects of art, science, or industry. By a perusal of them, an individual will 
be able to appreciate adequately the successes won by our countrymen at the great 
Exhibition ; and a glance at the picture will bring before his eyes as correct a portrait 
of the principal articles that obtained prizes, as art can delineate. 

The most important inventions, those which confer the greatest amount of power 
on mankind, in the ways of industry, were unquestionably furnished by American 
citizens. In this opinion, the entire world concurs, and it is refreshing to the mind 
of every patriot to dwell on a happy expression used by an eminent authority, in 
reference to this discrimination, viz. " that we may congratulate ourselves on having 
made signal triumphs in just those arts which most distinguish civilized man from 
the savage ; and in having lost honor only in those arts which most distinguish a 
luxurious nation from the hardy energy of practical workers." In this friendly 
rivalry among the nations of the earth, although a young people, we have held up 
our heads proudly. "We have given abundant proof of our ardor in the career of 
science — of our sincerity in the race of philanthropy. What we have achieved, 
however, is but the foot of the coming Hercules — ex pede Heradem, etc.; the future 
is big with other and greater triumphs. Nay, have we not the right to trust in this 
prediction ? Have we not the right to hope, from the untrammelled nature of our 
institutions, under which the mind of man is free to expand to its full dimensions, 
under which his heart may respond to every genial impulse, that before long we 
shall see that old and venerable serpent of knowledge, born amid the sedges of 
ancient Nile, and nursed in the lap of the mother of nations, Egypt, after his uneasy 
sojourn in Greece and Rome, after his fugitive steps in modern Europe, instinctively 
follow the star of empire west, and make our glorious republic his final resting place, 
the predestined home of his adoption ? So mote it he 1 



'■ 



THE YACHTS OF AMERICA. 

u jy e predict tliat the day is not very remote when this species of maritime craft, 
constructed by Yankee energy and talent, shall fully rival those of any other nation 
in the world, and even, as in other exhibitions of naval architecture, surpass them." 
— Gleason's Pictorial. 

The following article from the New York Herald, is a spirited dissertation on the 
subject in question, commencing with a graphic and off-hand sketch of the effect pro- 
duced here in the States, as well as in England, by the victory achieved by the 
yacht America over the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes. It then gracefully glides 
into a light treatise on the superiority of American ships, and on the inducements 
to build fast sailers. It proceeds to refer to general steam navigation, as that power- 
ful engine of commerce exists in the two countries, England and the United States. 
It describes the building of the yacht America, her model, the New York pilot 
boats, and improvements in the construction of the latter, giving at the same time 
various interesting memoranda thereon. Appended to the whole is a carefully com- 
piled list of pilot boats belonging to the Empire City, clipper ships, fast steamers, 
and yachts. It will bear reading again and again, inviting constant reference, by 
the strength of the reasoning, the accuracy of the detail, and the fine spirit of 
genuine patriotism which glows in almost every line. 

The sailing feats accomplished, and the victories won, by the New York yacht Ame- 
rica, in her late contest with the crack vessels of the English Royal Yacht Squadron, 
have caused as much talk in all circles here and in England, as did the first appear- 
ance of the Pacific and Atlantic steamers of the Collins line. School boys and gray 
beards, servants and sovereigns, mechanics and merchants, in short, persons of all 
classes and of both sexes, enter into spirited conversations upon the topic. The 
press on both sides of the Atlantic, in city and country, have devoted considerable 
valuable space to narrative, description, and discussion upon yachting in general, and 
this year's yachting in particular. All this is not simply because the America out- 
sailed the best yachts of the eastern world, but because a principle was involved in 
the matter, and because this principle was of vast importance both to England and 
America. Every Englishman, from the prince down to the pauper, has, for many 
years, been in the habit of boasting that Britannia ruled the waves ; that her's was 
the greatest navy, both in the merchant marine and national service, in quantity and 
quality — the greatest that the world knew. This broad proposition and proud boast 
has for nearly forty years been denied by those whose business or curiosity induced 
them to examine the merits of the vessels of both England and America. For 
more than thirty years have spectators of all nations sat on the heights of Gibraltar, 
and observed with admiration the graceful forms and excellent motions of the ships 
of America, as they passed through the Straits — the great thoroughfare of nations 
— successfully competing with all other ships, coming up to and passing them as if . 
favoring gales filled their canvas, and failed to reach the sails of the rest. Every- 
thing visible, from truck to water line, of the Yankee ships, gave token of their 
nationality. Graceful spars, clean canvas, well painted hull and top hamper — all 



8 THE YACHTS OF AMERICA. 

things gave the information at once, without aid of the ensign, that the object of 
admiration came from " the land of the free." This phenomenon was not peculiar 
to the Straits of Gibraltar, but was observable in every part of the world. Wherever 
Yankee ships, sailed by Yankee men, made their appearance, and were compared 
with the ships of other nations, the comparison resulted in favor of the United 
States. England was no passive observer of all this. With the best facilities in 
the world, they began to plan and build " model brigs," and model craft of all di- 
mensions ; but while they were learning, imperfectly, the lessons given to the nautical 
world by our shipbuilders, we were steadily and rapidly progressing. Baltimore 
clippers attained the name of complete excellence ; and when their raking masts, 
and long, low, black hulls appeared at sea, they were viewed by careful captains with 
a scrutinizing glass, and suspicion of their honesty was generally entertained till 
they were out of sight, or brought near enough to view to declare their fair inten- 
tions. "Baltimore clipper built" at length came to be the expression almost inva- 
riably used in describing the vessels taken from the slave service, or engaged in un- 
holy piratical expeditions. But the Baltimore ship builders had more apt, or, at 
least, more successful pupils on this side of the Atlantic than they had on the other. 
Circumstances occurred which made the Chinese trade of peculiar importance to the 
United States. Canton was a long way off, and our merchants used every effort to 
obtain quick returns. Captains of ships were engaged to get the best speed out of 
their vessels, and handsome presents were awarded to officers and crews who de- 
livered their cargoes here in the shortest space of time after their departure. These 
inducements, added to national pride, wrought emulation up to a spirited contest. 
The motions of ships were watched carefully, and their apparent faults noted with 
great particularity. Carrying qualities were kept sight of, but speed became of pa- 
ramount importance, and every new ship avoided some known fault, and adopted 
some new point in modelling or sparring. If the new invention proved of no avail, 
it was dropped; but if it turned out to be an advantage, it was carefully reserved 
and used. 

It at length became obvious to English statesmen that English interests were suf- 
fering, or would suffer, from the success of our ships, and a commission was accord- 
ingly appointed in England to examine into and report upon matters of interest 
connected with the maritime service. In their investigations, the commission looked 
at and reported upon the qualities and conduct of ships, officers and crews. The 
report was highly complimentary to American ships, and American seamen, for 
whose success some reasons were advanced. Whether this reasoning was correct or 
not, it is not worth while to discuss at present ; it is enough that they officially ac- 
knowledged the superiority of our ships, and of the manner in which they were 
sailed. " But," said cavillers and sticklers for English glory, " English ship 
builders are bound down by certain rules, which must be complied with, in order to 
give their ships a standing at Lloyds, and these rules prevent them from using their 
genius unlimitedly." An answer to this was furnished in the proposition made by 
the New York merchants on 'Change, to build a ship to cost 8100,000, another ship 
to be built in England, and the two ships to sail a match voyage, the owners of the 
winning ship to take possession of both vessels at the end of the voyage. This 
challenge was not accepted, and the matter was dropped. Meantime, clipper ship 
after clipper ship was launched from our ship yards, and sped away to the antipodes, 
almost literally on the wings of the wind, and returned to announce their own ar- 
rival on the other side of the world long ere their competitors, who sailed before 
them, had arrived. The numbers of these clippers multiplied, till now we have a 
whole fleet of them, and new accessions are continually being made. 

The chagrin felt by " England afloat" at being thus outdone on her peculiar ele- 
ment, could not be conveniently hidden, and all manner of things was said about 
the inability of clipper ships to carry large cargoes, the danger of damaging goods, 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 9 

&c. ; but they principally consoled themselves by pointing to their ocean steamers, 
of which they were justly proud, and they said, in their pride, the world cannot beat 
them. It was true, then, that the world had not beaten them. England had been 
engaged for many years in building sea steamers, while our capitalists found a better 
river navigation, and English workmen had brought to a state of great perfection 
investment in building river boats. We had attained to a speed of 450 miles a day in 
the huge engines required for sea service. All at once it occurred to capitalists here 
that the steamship business was a tolerably good trade, and they would try their 
hands at it. Orders were given, and the workmen engaged to go at the new busi- 
ness: It is not wonderful that a few mistakes were made. Like boys learning to 
skate, they got one or two tumbles, and bruised themselves not a little ', but they 
were up and at it again, and, after another trial or two, found themselves able to 
keep their footing. Mistakes were corrected ; parsimony was dismissed, and liber- 
ality adopted, in reference to the entire cost of the work to be accomplished ; and 
all at once, the Pacific, of Collins' s line, appeared and strode across the Atlantic 
ocean, at a rate of speed till then never known. It was all very well for the friends 
of the Cunard line to cry out, " Accidental good fortune," " A chance wind," and 
all that ; but the fact is, that, since the Pacific made her first great trip, her time 
has not been beaten, except by herself and her consort, the Baltic. For some time 
the difference of course sailed, and the distance accomplished by the different lines, 
left it an open question as to which were the fleetest ships. The Cunard line sent 
their best vessels directly to this port, and the race became a fair one, and proved, 
beyond cavil, that the American steamers were the fastest ships afloat. The next 
point that the advocates of the English steamers raised — for they were not yet wil- 
ling to give up, and call themselves altogether beaten — was this : The Collins steam- 
ers, said they, cannot surely stand rough weather ; their model is such that they 
must be bad winter sea boats. But, as if the fates would have it that every objec- 
tion should be met with a counter-demonstration, the Atlantic became disabled in 
her machinery, and was obliged to trust entirely to the sea-going qualities of her 
hull, and slight sails, in a storm that has seldom been equalled. She came out of 
the contest bearing new laurels for the line to which she belonged. The sea-wor- 
thiness of the Collins steamers was, per force, now admitted, and the boast is now 
reduced to the prospective accomplishments of the Persia and Arabia, steamers now 
building by the Cunard company. 

Although the most complete victory had already been won, in the contest for 
speed between English and American sailing ships and steam packets, it still 
remained to be proved whether John Bull or Brother Jonathan could produce the 
fastest sailing yacht. The best builders had for years been employed in building 
yachts for the English Royal Yacht Club, and by the English government in 
building cutters for the national coast service. The immense patronage of both the 
government and the club had been used, and certain remuneration awaited the 
constructor of the yacht that should beat the crack sailing craft theretofore afloat. 
Long experience appeared to have brought about the ne plus ultra of English yacht >• 
building, when it was rumoured that at no distant day a New York boat, of 170/ 
tons burthen, would soon appear near the English squadron, prepared to contest for 
the fame of fleetness, or for any thing else which might seem advisable. This New 
York boat was the America, whose history is as follows : — When the challenge 
above referred to, (that of building an American ship to sail against any one to be 
produced in England,) had for a long time been open and unaccepted, the Union 
Yacht Club proposed to build a yacht, take her to England, and make a trial of 
speed with her against any one or all of the craft belonging to the Royal Yacht 
Squadron there. A proposition was therefore submitted to Wm. H. Brown, ship 
builder of this city, to build a yacht that would out-sail Mr. Stevens's yacht Maria ; 
if she accomplished this feat, the builder was to receive $30,000 ; if she failed to 

2 



10 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

beat the Maria, the club were not bound to take her at all. Mr. Brown agreed to 
the proposition, and set to work. The result was the yacht America, which, after 
being properly fitted up, joined in the contest against the Maria. The America 
was beaten in every contest, and on every tack, and the club refused to take her. 
But, notwithstanding the Maria had beaten the America, yet the new yacht had 
many admirers, and Mr. Schuyler, a member of the club, declared that he believed 
she would beat any thing belonging to the English clubs ; and to show that he was 
sincere in this expression of opinion, he offered $20,000 for her as she stood. The 
builder accepted this offer, and Mr. Schuyler set about preparing for the transfer 
of the America from New York to England. In the first place he visited all the 
pilot boats belonging hereabouts, and picked from their crews the most promising 
young men — the best and most active sailors that he could find — to the number of 
thirteen. These he employed to join as the crew of the new yacht. Mr. Schuyler 
had nearly completed his arrangements, when Mr. Stevens and two other members 
of the club applied to him for the privilege of joining him as co-partners in his 
enterprise. To this Mr. S. consented, and under the joint direction of the four 
partners, the America sailed for Great Britain. Her exploits since her arrival 
there must be so familiar to the readers of the New York Herald that it is not 
necessary to repeat a history of them here. She appeared among the English 
yachtmen like a phantom ; so different in build and appointments from their own 
craft, that they at once came to the conclusion that if " she was right, they were all 
wrong." Her deeds soon proved her sailing qualities, and her every appearance 
vouched for her strength. Her superiority in point of speed was so striking that 
no show of doubt was made. She was at once set down as the fleetest of the fleet ; 
and admiration of her induced an offer to purchase her, at a handsome advance on 
her cost. 

Now, as to the model of the America, and the source from which her model was 
obtained. We think it is entirely true that to the New York pilots belong the 
credit of having produced the fleetest and best sea boats in the world ; and it is a 
curious fact that their oldest models vary but little from those used at the present 
day. The principal difference is in the length and sharpness of the bows, and the 
rake of the stern. The amount of drag observable in the America, and the cause 
of much wonderment on the other side of the Atlantic, is common to all the pilot 
boats, old and new. To show the difference in modelling within the last twenty-five 
years, we will give the dimensions of the pilot boat Gazette, built in 1826, and the 
pilot boat Christian Berg, now new : — 

The following were the dimensions of the Gazette : — 

Tonnage, by carpenter's measurement 75 tons. 

Length on deck 62 feet. 

" of keel 52 

Depth of hold 6}$- " 

Beam 17 T 7 y " 

Drag 4 " 

Rake of sternpost 4£ " 

The bow of the G. was cpuite full, and she had the greatest width of beam a little 
forward of the mainmast. 

The Christian Berg measures as follows : — 

Tonnage, by carpenter's measurement. 95 tons. 

Length on deck 73 feet. 

" of keel 66 

Depth of hold 7 T 9 ? " 

Beam 18 

Drag 3i 

Rake of sternpost 1 " 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD* S FAIR. 11 

The C B.'s bow is lengthened and sharp. By the word " drag" is meant the 
draft of water aft more than forward. 

Some experiments have been tried of late, and among them is that of giving the 
greatest beam abaft the mainmast. The new pilot boats Moses H. Grinnell and 
Mary Taylor are so built, but the model is not popular with the pilots; it is, 
however, one of the America's peculiarities, and may turn out to be an improvement. 
It may be as well to remark here, that the America's model is not popular with the 
pilots, who say that any reasonable amount of money can be raised among them to 
bet that, within one year's time, they will produce a boat of the same length, that 
will outsail the America. In other respects than the position of the greatest beam, 
the America has the model, slightly varied, of a New York pilot boat. The form 
of these pilot boats is no new thing. It has existed for half a century. Previous 
to the introduction of the schooner rigg, now used by the pilots, these hardy men 
used to seek vessels outside by means of smack boats, stiff, saucy little sloops, that 
are still used by our fishermen. They are frequently seen by mariners, far away 
from land, pursuing their avocations, and trusting with the utmost confidence to 
their cockle shell craft. As the business of the pilots increased, they found it 
necessary to increase their accommodations ; and the result was the introduction of 
the schooner pilot boats which have so long been the admiration of all who can 
properly appreciate them. The pilots had so long been used to the management of 
small craft at sea, that they knew what was mainly needed to render their boats safe 
sea-going vessels ; but speed was a great object, and, on consultation, it was 
determined to adopt the model which they first used, and which, as we have said 
before, does not differ very widely from the models used at the present day. A 
long deck and keel, with no great breadth of beam, a full bow, with raking sternpost 
and masts, considerable drag, and the greatest beam about midway between bow 
and stern, describes the model of the schooners built for pilots fifty years ago. The 
most approved model now in use varies from the old one principally in the shape of 
the bow and the rake of the sternpost. Instead of the full, or, as it is technically 
termed, the muscle bow, being used, they now lengthen and cut away the bow so as 
to give it a hollow instead of a full appearance ; and instead of the old-fashioned 
rake of four feet to the sternpost, they now give only a foot, and even less than this 
is contemplated. It is estimated that about twelve and a half per cent, of speed has 
been gained ; but it must be remembered that the boats now built are larger, and 
of course more powerful, than those constructed half a century ago. So well are 
the qualities of these boats known, that whenever an emergency arises, where a 
swift, clean sea-racer is wanted, application is immediately made to the pilots ; for 
their boats will answer just as well for the circumnavigation of the globe as for 
coast service. The New York pilots have had a regular organization since 1789 ; 
but as they keep no record of their proceedings, tradition is all that we have to 
rely upon till we come down to a period when the pilots now in the service 
commenced to learn their profession. We have, however, procured some memoranda 
from these living witnesses, which must prove interesting to the reader. 

The Joseph Legget, a fine, large boat, was purchased at a round price, and it was 
afterwards ascertained that she was fitted out and used as a slaver. 

The Mary Eleanor was purchased by a gentleman of Fayal, ostensibly to be used 
as a packet; but the facts were, that revolutionary disturbances at that time pre- 
vailed in Portugal, and not knowing what the result might be, the gentleman alluded 
to purchased and fitted up the Mary Eleanor, and kept a crew constantly engaged, 
so that, at any moment, he could place his family on board and put to sea, in search 
of a safe place of abode. 

The pilot boat Hackstaff went out to California, where she was lost. 

In the time of the last war, several of these boats were purchased and used as 



12 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 

privateers ; among the number so used were " The Brothers/' the " United we 
Stand," and the " Divided we Fall." 

There have been two exceedingly fast boats in their time, by the name of The 
Trimmer; one of them (we think it must have been The Trimmer No. 2) sailed a 
race with the schooner Grand Canal, in 1820. The race was a grand affair, and 
made for the time the town talk. The Trimmer won easily. 

The Clinton was known as a fine boat in her day. She was purchased by some 
smugglers, for the purpose of running tobacco into Ireland, "duty free." Her 
owners were betrayed, and the vessel decoyed ashore by treachery; she was a total loss. 

In Wilkes's Exploring Expedition, the schooners Sea Gull and Flying Fish were, 
perhaps, the most active vessels of the squadron. These were both New York pilot 
boats, and were known here as the " Independence" and the " New Jersey." The 
New Jersey has since been lost, but the Independence is still afloat, and engaged as 
an opium smuggler, in the East Indies. 

It is well known that the trim and saucy schooner in which Capt. Palmer made 
his celebrated voyage in the South Seas, was a pilot boat. 

The William J. Komer went on special service from this port to Liverpool, a few 
years since, in mid-winter, and encountered the worst of winter storms, during which 
she performed handsomely, and returned to resume her station here. 

Before the establishment of lines of steamships, government used frequently to 
send express vessels after packets having on board absconding criminals. Of course, 
the fleetest vessels were in demand, and a New York pilot boat was always chosen 
for such service. 

But why enumerate more instances of the appreciation of the qualities of these 
boats ? There is no New York boy twelve years of age, and of ordinary intelligence, 
that does not know their worth. They are familiar to us, but none the less admired. 
Let a pilot boat come down the river, and make out into the bay of a pleasant after- 
noon, when the Battery is thronged with pedestrians, and one may observe hundreds 
of eyes turned towards the graceful thing that " walks the waters like a thing of 
life," and expressions of pride and admiration are sure to become audible from some 
quarter. Never fearful of an encounter with the dangers of the deep, the pilots are 
ever on the alert, with a professional pride, to meet their charge as far from land as 
practicable; they stretch away hundreds of miles to the eastward, and of late our 
ships have not unfrequently been boarded by them 500 miles from Sandy Hook. 
All this they are enabled to do on account of the superiority of their boats. But 
these skimmers of the sea must be well managed; it will not do to trust them in 
the hands of ordinary sailors. Like a high mettled racer, they must be kept in with 
a taut rein ; but the first business of the pilot's apprentice, is to learn the manage- 
ment of the boat. Old sailors, who have lived long lives on the sea, are not com- 
petent to their management unless they are specially tutored to it ; and hence the 
sagacity displayed by Mr. Schuyler in picking the crew for the yacht America from 
among the pilot boys. We may sum up all that can be said in their favor, in the 
assertion that the New York pilot boats have never been excelled, and that their 
proprietors are now prepared, within one year, to produce a boat of the same length 
of the America, that shall outsail that yacht. Mr. Daniel Westervelt, who built 
the clipper ship N. B. Palmer, is now building a pilot boat, of which much is ex- 
pected. Mr. W. has been very successful heretofore. The model of the new boat 
will not vary materially from that of the Christian Berg alluded to above. 
The following is a list of the pilot boats of New York : 

NEW YORK LINE. 

No. 1— The Phantom. No. 6— The Charlotte Ann. 

No. 2— The Washington. No. 8— The New York. 

No. 4 — Jacob Bell. No. 9 — The James Avery. 

No. 5— David Mitchell. No. 12— The William J. Homer. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 



13 



NEW JERSEY PILOTS. 

No. 1— The Sylph. No. 4— The H. B. Hall. 

No. 2— The Thos. H. Smith. No. 5— The Mary Taylor. 

No. 3 — The Commerce. 



MERCHANTS PILOTS. 



No. 1— The M. H. Grinnell. 

No. 2— The Nettle. 

No. 3— The Virginia. 

No. 4 — The Washington. 

No. 5 — The Mary Ann. 

No. 6— The Mary & Catharine. 



No. 7— The Yankee. 
No. 9— The Jabez Williams. 
No. 10— The J. N. Waterbury. 
No. 11— The E. K. Collins. 
No. 12— The Christian Berg. 



The tonnage of these boats varies from 75 to 100 tons ; they cost, on an average, 
about $10,000 each, and are owned by the pilots. 

While on the subject of fast sailers, we may as well append a list of our clipper 
ships and fast running ocean steamers, that have sprung into being, almost like a 
work of magic, within the last three years : — 





CLIPPER 


SHIPS. 




Eclipse, 


Mandarin, 


Reindeer, 


Nightingale, 


Eternal, 


Oriental, 


Ino, 


Comet, 


Celestial, 


Houqua, 


N. B. Palmer, 


Sword Fish, 


Gazelle, 


Witchcraft, 


Eureka, 


Golden Gate, 


Grey Eagle, 


Sea Witch, 


Eagle, 


Trade Wind, 


Grey Hound, 


Sea Serpent, 


Telegraph, 


Invincible, 


Stag Hound, 


Sea Nymph, 


Challenge, 


Snow Squall, 


Black Squall, 


Surprise, 


Hornet, 


John Stewart, 


White Squall, 


Flying Cloud, 


Bacer, 


Wild Pigeon, 


Memnon, 


Game Cock, 


Hurricane, 





From among the large number of ocean racers, which have been launched within 
the last two or three years, we select the following steamers, which have distanced 
all competitors : — 



Baltic, 

Georgia, 

Illinois, 



STEAMERS. 

Winfield Scott, Pacific, No. 2, 

Alabama, Prometheus, 

Pacific, Union, 



Franklin, 

Marion, 

Brother Jonathan. 



These are all fast ocean steamers, that have proved their qualities, and won a wide 
fame by their actual accomplishments; but their names are familiar to the American 
public, and their feats of sailing have heretofore been recorded. 

Although we give to the New York pilots the credit of introducing the best 
models and producing the best sailers in the world, yet we are aware that much is 
due to those enterprising gentlemen who have combined utility with pleasure, in the 
construction and use of yachts. We have in New York as pretty a fleet of these 
dainty bits of nautical aristocracy as can be found in the world. Here are their 
names and dimensions, and the names of their owners : — 



YACHTS BELONGING TO THE NEW YORK YACHT CLUB. 

Names. Tonnage. Big. Owners. 

{ J. C. Stevens. 
Maria *T70 Sloop \ R. L. Stevens. 

( E. A. Stevens. 

Breeze 106 Schooner L.G.Coles. 

Ultra *100 Sloop C.C.Miller. 



14 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Karnes. Tonnage. Rig. Owners. 

" W. Edgar. 

Cornelia 90 Schooner I £' * f \ Ed S ar - 



N. Edgar. 
, R. W. Edgar. 

Yarborough 80 Schooner II. Robinson. 

Ianthe 60 do G. Cadwallader. 

Una 60 Sloop J. M. Waterbury. 

Spray 37 Schooner H. "Wilkes. 

Sport 30 Sloop T.T.Ferris. 

Dream 28 Schooner J. Prescott Hall. 

Ariel 25 do C. Grinnell. 

Alpha *24 Sloop R.R.Morris. 

Arab 18 Schooner W. C. Emmet. 

* Estimated. 

BOSTON YACHTS. 

There are also some pretty yachts hailing from Boston and Salem, Mass. ; they 
are named as follows : — 

Cygnet Boston. Alice Boston. 

Mystery Salem. Excelsior Salem. 

Pearl Salem. D. Williams S. Boston. 

Triumph Hingham. Edward Eddy Salem. 

Above we have furnished lists of vessels of all classes — a list of which any nation 
might be proud. We might have extended it, and included our lake and river craft, 
for there are on ' our inland waters some of the most beautiful craft afloat. We 
might have mentioned the Long Island Sound packets, and the North River sloops, 
which, when the yearly regattas come off, are newly, painted by their owners, and 
join in the race, sometimes holding almost an even course with the yachts ; but our 
object was not so much to enumerate the number or kinds of fast sailers, as to give 
credit where credit was due for the improvements in naval architecture, which has 
placed us so far ahead of all competitors. This credit we aver is due to the New 
York pilots, a set of men whose enterprize knows no motto but " excelsior," whose 
diligence never flags, and whose valuable experience has exhibited itself in practical 
results which have long been the admiration of the world. No swifter fleet of sail- 
ing vessels than the New York pilot boats ever floated ; and we believe it will be a 
long time before they will be obliged to yield the palm to any. They deserve their 
success, and it is but just that their deserts should be proclaimed to the world. 



McCORMICK'S REAPING AND MOWING MACHINE. 

Of all the contributions toward the matchless collection of aids, auxiliaries, powers, 
and ornaments of arts, sciences and industry, within the pellucid, the transparent 
walls of the Crystal Palace, McCormick's Reaper was perhaps, taken on the whole, 
the most valuable. Simple in its construction, yet powerful in its modus operandi, 
it revealed itself to the astonished British Agriculturist as an agent of the greatest 
importance, in the most important of human pursuits. As agriculture, with all 
civilized nations, is universal, so is this new power given into the hands of the hus- 
bandman, of universal benefit. Can any other product exhibited at the World's Fair 
advance pretensions like these ? Can any other novelty in the way of industrial in- 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 15 

vention claim universal homage like this ? Honor, and wealth, and world-wide gra- 
titude to McCormick for his inestimable gift, by whose aid the farmer can now al- 
most bid defiance to the unpropitious elements, housing the fruits of his industry 
under the most frowning sky ! He has worthily had a double first class or Council 
medal for his magnificent invention. The following letter from B. P. Johnson, Esq., 
Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society, and Commissioner to the 
"World's Fair, in reference to the Reaper, appeared in the Albany Evening Journal, 
and gives a fair description of the triumph it achieved, in presence of the elite of British 
Agriculturists : 

" London, July 29, 1851. 

a On Thursday, the 24th instant, three of the jurors on instruments proceeded to 
Mr. Mechi's farm, in Essex, (Tiptree Hall,) about forty-five miles from London, to 
try the American Reaping Machines, and to test the draught of the plows. Col. 
Challoner, of the English department, Baron Martens, of Belgium, and myself, 
were the jurors. This day was selected at the request of Mr. Mechi, who held his 
annual festival for the examination of his crops, stock, &c. The day proved, as did 
that for the trial of the plows, one of the favorite days of England — that is, rain 
incessantly. We left here at eight o'clock in the morning, and arrived at Mr. Mechi's 
about eleven o'clock, and found assembled from one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
dred farmers and others, to witness the trial, as well as to examine the farm and its 
crops and arrangements. Mr. Mechi's wheat was not ripe, but quite green, the crop 
very heavy upon the ground, and every thing as unfavorable as possible for trying 
the Reapers. The people present were clamorous for a trial, and the person having 
Hussey's Reaper in charge placed it on the field, and a trial was made with it; but 
the grain was so green that it soon clogged the machine, and it passed over without 
cutting it. This damped the spirits of many who had hoped the trial would have 
been satisfactory. 

" It was suggested by the other members of the jury that we had better not try 
McCormick's ; but I informed them that the machine was there for the trial, and it must 
be tried as I could not consent that the gentlemen present, many of whom had come for 
the sole purpose of witnessing the trial, should go away with the impression that our 
Reapers would not do the work promised. McCormick's was accordingly placed to its 
work, and with a single span of horses, it went through the grain, green as it was, cutting 
all before it. When I ordered the machine stopped, the crowd around it, who had 
followed after very closely, were addressed by Mr. Mechi. He said to them : " Gen- 
tlemen, here is a triumph for the American Reaping machine. It has, under all its 
disadvantages, done its work completely. Now let us, as Englishmen, show them 
that we appreciate this contribution to our implements for cheapening our agricul- 
ture ; and let us give the Americans three hearty English cheers !" They gave 
them, I assure you, with a will; and a fourth with a hip ! hip ! hurrah ! The jurors 
then required the machine to cut another swath, so that it might be timed, and its 
powers ascertained. Accordingly the machine was put in motion again, and cut 
seventy-four yards in length in seventy seconds, doing its work first-rate, and to the 
satisfaction of every one present. At this rate it would cut twenty acres per day, 
during their usual hours of work here. A large number of farmers present called on me 
to express their gratification at the result under such unfavorable circumstances, and 
they said they considered the result a very great triumph for the American machine, 
and that it had fully redeemed every thing I had said in relation to its capabilities. 

" You can hardly imagine how the tone is altered since we have had our imple- 
ments tried. The 'Prairie Ground' is filled with inquirers, and some gentlemen 
have found out that there are some people who know what they are doing in some 
other parts of the Globe, as well as this little island, where it is most readily admit- 



16 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT TIIE WORLD'S FAIR. 

ted there are many 'clever people.' The McCormick machine was put together 
in the Palace again, and yesterday it had more visitors, I believe, than the Ko-i-noor 
diamond itself. 

" After the trial of the Reapers, about 150 gentlemen sat down to a first-rate din- 
ner prepared by Mr. Mechi, and did, as you may suppose, ample justice to it. We 
had, some of us at least, worked well in the mud and rain, and bore outward evidence, 
at least, of being working men. Mr. Mechi presided, assisted by Lord Ebrington, as 
Vice-Chairman. Lord Ebrington, in giving the health of the foreign visitors present, 
remarked that it must have been truly gratifying to their American brethren present, 
to witness the triumphant and complete success of the American Reaper, which had 
done its work under great disadvantage, to the satisfaction of all present ; and the 
occasion was one of very deep interest. (Cheers.) He concluded with the health 
of Mr. Mechi, who responded in a straightforward speech that drew forth rounds of 
applause. In allusion to the Reaper, Mr. Mechi remarked that we had to-day re- 
ceived from our American brethren, descendants of this country, the American 
Reaper which had been entirely successful. It was a fact worth remembering, that 
they have sent here a Reaping Machine, that would cut all the grain in England. — 
And this had been in operation in the United States seven years, and but for the 
great Exhibition in progress would have yet remained unknown to the farmers of 
Great Britain. It was a boon of no ordinary value, and it was undoubtedly one of 
the most important improvements introduced into this country to cheapen the pro- 
duction of food. Other speeches were made, and the company separated after the 
labors of the day, well satisfied with the result of the trials made." 

The Reaper upon its second trial maintained its high supremacy. 

A correspondent of the Albany Journal writing from London, under date of 
August 21st, says : 

The Great Medal of the Exhibition has been awarded to Mr. C. H. McCormick, 
for his Reaper after two trials, in presence of the persons appointed to try the ma- 
chine. Since the trial before the jurors, the machine has been in operation in dif- 
ferent parts of the kingdom, and has performed not only satisfactorily, but to the 
astonishment and admiration of all who have witnessed its operations ; and the at- 
tendance each day has been from 200 to 500 persons, landlords and farmers mostly. 

A subsequent trial was had upon the farm of the Hon. Mr. Pusey, M. P., Chair- 
man of our Jury, and one of the Royal Commissioners, upon ripe grain — and under 
his direction. Hussey's American Reaper and McCormick's were both tried and 
did their work satisfactorily. The Great Medal was awarded to Mr. McCorrnick's, 
as being the best Reaper. Mr. Pusey, and the members of the Jury who were with 
him, were not present at the first trial at Mr. Mechi's. What renders this award 
the more gratifying, is that it is the only single agricultural implement which has 
received the Great Medal — the Great Medal awarded to English exhibitors being 
for several implements grouped together. 



INDIA RUBBER FABRICS. 

Mr. Charles Goodyear, of New Haven,- Conn., is too well known to the scientific 
world, to need any laudatory remarks from us, as an introduction to a description 
of his unsurpassed fabrics, in the specialty of India Rubber. By his ingenuity 
and indomitable perseverance, under difficulties which would have crushed almost 
any other man, he has succeeded in rendering that elastic substance subservient to 
an infinite variety of domestic uses, besides making it an important auxiliary to 
nearly every branch of industry. As the inventor of vulcauized India Rubber, he 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 17 

has become quite a benefactor to the age in which we live, and his name will pass 
to posterity in imperishable renown. As an apt illustration of the merit of this 
excellent person, we append the following, from Mr. Webster's great speech at 
Trenton, on the famous litigation in which Mr. G-oodyear has been for so long a 
period involved : 

" In 1884, Cbarles G-oodyear turned his attention to the rubber manufacture. 
Whatever may be Mr. G-oodyear' s claims to the great invention, now spread out to 
the ends of the earth, and known to all the world, this record shows, other records 
show, every body knows, that he is a man of an inquisitive, ingenious, laborious turn 
of mind. 

" He turned his attention to this subject, not as a matter of business or trade, but 
by way of commencing or carrying on a series of experiments by which he could 
bring to the test the question whether this very extraordinary substance was capable 
of rendering any benefit to society, to see whether there was any way given among 
men skilled in the arts, by which this article could be cleared of its stickiness, its 
gluey nature, its tendency to harden in the frost and soften in the heat ; for it is 
well known that the articles manufactured up to the year 1834, were entirely use- 
less; if they were exposed to the sun, they became sticky; you could not separate 
them after their surfaces came in contact ; and if exposed to the cold, they became 
hard and rigid. I well remember that I had some experience in this matter myself. 
A friend in New York sent me a very fine cloak of India Eubber, and a hat of the 
same material. I did not succeed very well with them. I took the cloak one day 
and set it out in the cold. It stood very well by itself. I surmounted it with the 
hat, and many persons passing by supposed they saw standing by the porch the 
Farmer of Marshfield. 

" We have reached that point in this discussion where the great question of the 
case rises up before us. We meet it. We are bound to meet it. And that great 
question is, the truth or falsity of the claim by Charles G-oodyear to the invention 
of the process of vulcanizing India Kubber. Did he make such an invention ? Is 
he who sits here before us the man known now, and to be known for ever, while 
the history of art remains, the individual, who introduced to the knowledge of his 
country, and to the knowledge of the whole civilized world, this extraordinary phe- 
nomenon ? It is a phenomenon. My knowledge of physics is not great; I am no 
philosopher, not being willing to live quite so abstemiously and poverty stricken as 
Mr. Goodyear, because I have not been inspired with the same ambition; and I 
have given my attention through life to objects a little more practical. But when 
the nature of this manufacture first came to my knowledge, I thought that so far as 
my observation had gone, I knew of but one thing in the whole world analogous to it. 

'"The peculiarity of this vulcanizing process is this. If you take a compound of 
sulphur and rubber in a dry state, and grind and mix them together, and apply 
heat, the consequence is, that the substance softens, and softens, and softens, as the 
degree of heat increases, until it reaches a certain height in the thermometer, say 
212° Fahrenheit, or along there, a little more or less. Will any body who ever 
tried the effect to see what would be its operation upon this compound, and finding 
that it ran up to a great degree of heat, softening and rendering it more and more 
plastic, as the degree of heat was augmented, naturally be of opinion, that if the 
heat was carried still higher, the whole substance would melt ? I say that every 
body would be of that opinion, reasoning a priori, and founding his conclusions 
upon a general knowledge of the effect of heat. But Mr. Goodyear, as the result 
of untiring experiment, found out, that although the application of heat produced a 
melting effect upon this compound, and rendered it more and more plastic and soft, as 
the degree of heat augmented ; yet when that heat, going on, had got up to a certain 
much higher degree, its effect was the reverse of what it had been, and then the 



18 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

rubber composition commenced to vulcanize and harden, in fact to make metallic, 
the vegetable substance. I think that is extraordinary : and I know of no opera- 
tion of nature exactly like it. 

"And now, is Charles Goodyear the discoverer of this invention of vulcanized 
rubber? Is he the first man upon whose mind the idea ever flashed, or to whose intel- 
ligence the fact ever was disclosed, that by carrying heat to a certain height it would 
cease to render plastic the India Rubber, and begin to harden and metallize it ? Is 
there a man in the world who found out that fact before Charles Goodyear ? Who 
is he ? Where is he ? On what continent does he live ? Who has heard of him ? 
What books treat of him ? What man among all men on earth has seen him, 
known him, or named him ? Yet it is certain that this discovery has been made. 
It is certain it exists. It is certain that it is now a matter of common knowledge 
all over the civilized world. It is certain that ten or twelve years ago it was not 
knowledge. It is certain that this curious result has grown into knowledge by 
somebody's discovery and invention. And who is that somebody? The question 
was put to my learned opponent by my learned associate. If Charles Goodyear did not 
make this discovery, who did make it ? Who did make it ? Why if our learned 
opponent had said he should endeavor to prove that some one other than Mr. 
Goodyear had made this discovery, that would have been very fair. I think the 
learned gentleman was very wise in not doing so. For I have thought often, in the 
course of my practice in law, that it was not very advisable to raise a spirit, that 
one could not conveniently lay again. 

" Now, who made this discovery ? And would it not be proper ? I am sure it 
would. And would it not be manly ? I am sure it would. Would not my learned 
friend and his coadjutor have acted a more manly part, if they had stood up and 
said that this invention was not Goodyear' s, but was an invention of such and such 
a man, in this or that country. On the contrary, they do not meet Goodyear's 
claim by setting up a distinct claim of any body else. They attempt to prove that 
he was not the inventor, by little shreds and patches of testimony. Here a little 
bit of sulphur, and there a little parcel of lead ; here a little degree of heat, a little 
hotter than would warm a man's hands, and in which a man could live for ten 
minutes or a quarter of an hour ; and yet they never seem to come to the point. I 
think it is, because their materials did not allow them to come to the manly asser- 
tion that somebody else did make this invention, giving to that somebody a ' local 
habitation and a name.' We want to know the name, and the habitation, and the 
location of the man upon the face of this globe who invented vulcanized rubber, if 
it be not he who now sits before us." j 

In allusion to Goodyear's early trials and disappointments, and the sufferings and 
sympathies of his wife, Mr. Webster said : — 

" In all his distress, and in all his trials, she was willing to participate in his 
sufferings, and endure every thing, and hope every thing ; she was willing to be 
poor ; she was willing to go to prison, if it was necessary, when he went to prison ; 
she was willing to share with him every thing, and that was his only solace. 

" May it please your Honors, there is nothing upon the earth that can compare 
with the faithful attachment of a wife; no creature who for the object of her love 
is so indomitable, so persevering, so ready to suffer and to die. Under the most 
depressing circumstances, woman's weakness becomes mighty power ; her timidity 
becomes fearless courage ; all her shrinking and pinking passes away, and her spirit 
acquires the firmness of marble — adamantine firmness, when circumstances drive 
her to put forth all her energies under the inspiration of her affections." 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 19 

MR. B. BRADY'S DAGUERREOTYPES. 

The art of Daguerreotyping, or perhaps more properly, as certainly with more 
precision, Solar Engraving, by which the artist seizes the lustrous sunbeam and 
makes it perform the office of the burin, or engraver's tool, is now almost universal. 
There is scarcely a town in Christian Europe or America, containing a thousand 
inhabitants, that has not one or more resident daguerreotypists, while the number 
of itinerants in the profession is almost countless ; for they swarm from the Danube 
to the Mississipi, visiting villages, farms, plantations, &c, with their easily portable 
apparatus, all ready to take off heads, whether belonging to the living or the dead, 
for a consideration. And even this does not bound their enterprize or usefulness, 
for all nature, animate and inanimate, is comprised within the grasp of their 
wonderful art. The rural landscape, the marine view, the architectural sketch — in 
which last named particular, the Daguerreotypist, by the fidelity of his lines, his 
curves, his angles, rivals even Canaletti himself — every thing, in short, the eye can 
reach, or light irradiate, can be copied by this bewitching process. The heavenly 
bodies, even, are not beyond the reach of the disciples of Daguerre, for the moon 
herself, with all her inequalities of surface, her mountains, her caverns, her volcanoes, 
stand revealed to us at noon-day on their metallic plates. From these premises — 
by which it will be at once understood that a more extensive rivalry exists in this 
art, than in any others in the world— we may readily conclude that to attain 
excellence in it — undoubted excellence — bespeaks skill indeed! Mr. Brady, of 
Broadway, New York, is the individual who exemplifies the highest success in 
Daguerreotyping among all his competitors at the World's Fair. His u likenesses 
of illustrious Americans" in the Great Exhibition, were the theme of universal 
praise. This gentleman was the first to introduce the celebrated portraits on ivory, 
in which are united the perfect accuracy of the daguerreotype and the high finish 
of the best miniature painting. He won of course a prize medal at the World's 
Fair. 



PROFESSOR BOND AND SON'S CLOCK AND SPRING 
GOVERNOR. 

One of the most important contributions to the World's Fair was unquestionably 
Professor Bond & Son's Clock and Spring Governor. Under an exceedingly modest, 
if not positively an unprepossessing exterior, this beautiful piece of mechanism was 
comparatively unnoticed by the fashionable lounger, and the uninvestigating crowd. 
Its transcendent merit was however soon discovered by the British astronomers, and 
a council medal was awarded its scientific inventors. We give below a splendid 
article on the subject, from Chambers's Edinburgh Journal. 

A PEEP INTO THE OBSERVATORY. 

PROFESSOR BOND AND SON'S CLOCK AND SPRING GOVERNOR, FOR REGISTERING 
ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS BY ELECTRICITY. 

The great globe on which we dwell spins round in space with an even movement 



20 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

from clay to clay and year to year. It has not made any important change, either 
in the direction of its revolution, or in the rate with which it goes, since the dawn 
of human history. Out of this unvarying uniformity, the most exact of all the 
sciences springs. For man, having learned to trust to its enduring steadiness, plants 
his telescope firmly upon the revolving surface, and looks out through its tube as 
it sweeps along in its circular course Again and again he sees the same star re- 
turning across the visual area of his instrument. He fixes a delicate thread in the 
centre of this, and counts the minutes and seconds that intervene between the 
periods when the star appears to make its recurring contacts with the thread. If 
those periods are always of equal amount, he calls the star a fixed one ; but if they 
are of varying length, he notes the difference as the measure of the wanderings of 
the star; and the telescope thenceforth becomes the observatory of an astronomer. 

The great object of astronomical observation is the exact determination of the 
times when certain important luminaries pass behind threads placed within the tubes 
of fixed telescopes. From multiplied observations of this nature, a knowledge of the 
planetary and stellar systems is deduced. But in order that the deductions may be 
sound, it is necessary that even seconds shall be split into fractions. The observer 
must be able to say, not only in what second, but also in what part of a second, the 
star has been observed behind his thread. Both his eye and his ear must be trained 
by long custom to a state of exalted activity. The threads within the visual field 
of his instrument must also be of the utmost degrees of fineness ; for fifteen spider- 
threads, held three feet and a half away from the eye, will cover the breadth which 
a star seems to move through in a second. Dr. Wollaston has succeeded in drawing 
out platinum wire for the use of astronomers to such extreme tenuity, that 150 of 
them may be twisted together to make up the thickness of a silk-worm's fibre ; and 
yet one of these will suffice to cover the point of a star when placed behind it under 
favorable circumstances. But the better to understand how it is that such gossa- 
mer material can be employed in the solid work of the observatory, let us enter for 
a little while into the interior of one of those interesting temples of science during 
the performance of its ordinary rites. 

It is night, and the fixed transit telescope is just about to sweep over the star 
Arcturus. Through a slit, which rises in the opposite wall high into the roof of the 
room, we perceive a galaxy of twinkling stars. As our eyes grow accustomed to the 
dimness of the light which alone is allowed to pervade the space in which we stand, 
we notice before us a grave looking telescope, supported by means of a firm, trans- 
verse axis upon two solid piers of stone, and pointing up towards the higher portion 
of the slit. An observer in a loose coat and close cap has already taken his place 
in a comfortable reclining-chair, which enables him, without fatiguing effort, to keep 
his eye before the end of the telescope. He holds his tablets and pencil in his 
hand, and a large clock— the living genius of the place — is audibly ticking near. 
The beats of this clock the observer is mentally counting. Before he placed himself 
in his chair he took the second from the clock face — that is, he began his enumera- 
tion by noting the number of seconds that had already elapsed in the current mi- 
nute. His ear is now strained to catch with precision each succeeding beat, and his 
eye is strung to concentrate its attention upon the star as soon as it impinges upon 
his sight. The earth moves on with its almost imperceptible and stately pace, and 
carries the telescope and observer with it, until at last the expected object is found 
within the range of the tube, and the advancing star appears at the margin of the 
visual field. 

The circular space in which the star is seen is illuminated by a subdued tinge of 
artificial light thrown in from a lantern at the side of the telescope. By means of 
this light fine upright threads are discerned crossing the illuminated field at equal 
distances. Towards the first of these the star advances with a twinkling gait, but 
with its whitish hue, nevertheless, distinct on account of being contrasted with the 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S EAIR. 21 

yellower field. Onwards it moves ; the observer following it carefully with his eye, 
and counting the clock-beats as they fall. ' Thirty -two' was the last reckoning : 
' thirty-three' follows as the next. Then for an instant the star disappears behind 
the thread — appears again, and beat ' thirty-four' is heard. The obscuration has 
taken place not half-way between the beats, but nearer to the following than the 
preceding one in the proportion of four to six : 83-6 seconds is therefore jotted 
down upon the ready tablets as the period of the occurrence. By the time the re- 
cord has been made the star has approached the second thread. The observer is 
therefore again on the alert, and counting the clock-beats that he may register the 
transit behind it. This process he repeats afterwards with the three remaining 
threads. The five recorded numbers are then added together ; the sum-total divided 
by five ; and the result, with the hour and minute taken from the clock-face inserted 
before it, is registered as the exact time at which the star passed the central wire. 

The five threads are used, and five observations taken, simply that any error inci- 
dent to the process of observation may be diffused among the five. If the observer 
has estimated and jotted down the fractional second of one observation a little too 
soon, the chances are that the error will lie in the other direction with the next ; 
and the one inaccuracy will thus tend to correct and neutralise the other. By this 
contrivance the process of observing has been brought to so great a nicety that even 
personal errors are taken into account. The eye of one man sees quicker than that 
of another. The peculiar power of the observer's organ is therefore tested by com- 
parative experiment, and a refined correction in accordance with this is made in the 
record of the observation. 

Notwithstanding all that has been thus done to perfect the process of observing, 
the astronomer still continues to find cause for dissatisfaction. It is not enough 
that he has made his instruments analyse and define their own faults of construction ; 
it is not enough that he has fitted them with optical powers that magnify hairbreadths 
of space into vast areas ; it is not enough that he has split the errors incident to his 
own inexpertness into fragments by causing them to divide themselves ; it is not 
enough that he has entered into successful competition with spiders in forming fine 
threads for the visual fields of his intruments; it is not enough that he has made 
his own rate of perception to enter as an element into his estimate ; — for there yet 
remains the important fact, that the eye and the ear are not themselves in perfect 
accordance with each other. When the eye notes an occurrence, and marks it as 
simultaneous with a sound that is recognized by the ear, the two perceptions are 
caused by phenomena that are perhaps some fractions of a moment asunder from 
each other in time. The message which comes through the ear takes longer to pass 
into the seat of perception than that which enters by the eye. Every observation 
therefore includes a residuary error dependent upon this source, which is sufficient 
to distort, to a certain extent, the symmetry of the deduced results, making cycles 
to seem longer or shorter, and causing suns to give in an erroneous account of 
themselves. 

The Americans have taken the initiative in attacking this source of inaccuracy ; 
they have invented a plan for making electricity register upon paper instantaneously 
both the clock-beats and the exact time of observation. The observer makes the 
record of the latter by merely pressing an ivory key which he holds in his hand. 
This gives a more exact result, because the consent between the eye and the sense 
of touch is much more intimate than that between the eye and ear. When the eye 
is engaged in observing, the hand can obey almost instinctively a suggestion coming 
through it, and indelibly register the instant by a grasp ; for this is a form of 
obedience that it is practising all life long. The hand becomes wonderfully skilled 
from habit in effecting rapidly the purpose that has been willed under the influence 
of the cpiick sense of sight ; whereas the mental comparison of a sound with a visible 
sign involves the necessity of a far slower and less familiar process. It is this 



22 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

principle that constitutes the value of the American contrivance. Professor Bond, 
of Harvard University, United States, is the inventor of the instrument by which 
the electrical register is proposed to be made ; and this was exhibited in operation 
at one of the sectional meetings of the British Association, at Ipswich, on the 
Thursday morning during the visit of Prince Albert. 

In one corner of the council-chamber of the town-hall, in which the meeting was 
held, stood a small square frame of mahogany, supporting a cylinder covered with 
paper. This cylinder was kept revolving by means of a weight-and-clock movement, 
so that it completed each revolution in a minute. Upon its top the point of a glass 
pen rested, whose interior cavity was filled with ink, so that, as the cylinder turned 
beneath it, a continuous trace appeared upon the paper, which was lengthened out 
into a spiral line by a slow shifting of the cylinder sideways. Upon any given 
portion of the paper this ink-trace appeared, after the cylinder had 
made a few turns, in parallel columns somewhat thus — 

Behind the frame containing the revolving cylinder peered forth the 
face of an astronomical clock. From this connecting wires might be 
seen passing backwards into a cupboard containing a charged galvanic battery, and 
forwards to the registering cylinder. The steady click, click of the clock was telling 
off the seconds in the usual way ; and so long as no electrical communication was 
established between it and the registering apparatus, the cylinder continued to move 
on with stolid indifference, covering itself with parallel columns of even lines j 
but as soon as the clock and the cylinder were brought into electrical relation by an 
altered arrangement of the wires, the aspect of affairs was strangely changed. The 
pen, before so cpuiet and sedate, became all at once convulsed with a paroxysm of 
twitches, which of course registered themselves upon the paper of the cylinder ; so 
that the parallel columns produced by a few successive turns of . . ■ , . 
the apparatus now presented this appearance — j J J J J 

Each little offset in each column had been made simultaneously with J J J 1 J 
a beat of the clock, and was in fact the permanent record of a 1 1 1 1 1 
corresponding second. The eye and ear could easily trace the ' > ' ' ' 
connection while the operation was in progress. Each twitch of the pen was 
evidently instantaneous with a sonorous beat of the pendulum : some mysterious 
sympathy connected together the movement and the sound. 

The secret of the sympathetic connection was simply this : the pen was fixed to 
an armature of steel, placed close to the extremities of a horse-shoe of soft iron. 
This horse-shoe was surrounded by a coil of the connecting wires. Whenever a 
current of galvanic electricity was passed along the coil, the horse-shoe iron became 
a magnet, and attracted the pen and armature into close contact with itself. 
Whenever the galvanic current was interrupted, the magnet lost its power, and 
allowed the armature and pen to spring away for a short distance under the 
influence of an elastic force. Each springing away of the pen registered itself by 
an offset upon the paper. Whenever the pen was held in close contact with the 
magnet, the even line was traced. The clock itself was placed in the line of 
connecting wires, so that each time the pendulum swayed from side to side it broke 
the contact of the conducting line, and thus arrested the passage of the electric 
current for an instant : and thus each effect formed by the pen, when the horse-shoe 
ceased to be a magnet, came to be simultaneous with the beat of the clock which 
arrested the galvanic current that sustained the magnetic power. 

When an observation is to be recorded by the aid of this instrument, the 
observer takes a small key of ivory, attached to the end of a wire in his hand. He 
places the clock and registering-cylinder in communication, and then fixes himself 
at the telescope. Concentrating his attention upon the star, he gives a momentary 
pressure to the key, when the luminous point disappears behind the thread : by so 
doing he breaks the galvanic circuit for an instant, and this break is registered 




■"&,;■! 



hm ffifiiiiffli 



BOND 8 SONS, 
IIOSTO, MASS. 



. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 23 



31" 



33" 



among the clock-breaks. An additional offset is interpolated 
among the ordinary second offsets, and the result appears somewhat 
thus — 

The observation is here recorded as having been made at thirty- 
three seconds and six-tenths. The fractional part of the second line ] ^ 
at which the interpolated offset is found is measured off as the exact 
estimate of nine. = 

In the old mode of observing by the ear, the fine threads of the §| 
telescope were necessarily placed so far asunder that the observer = 
had time to record the passage of the star behind one, and prepare 
himself for its contact with the second, before that occurrence could 
take place. But in observing by the aid of Professor Bond's apparatus, the wires 
may be so close that the successive star-contacts may be made almost in consecutive 
seconds, for the hand will be ready to register them as quickly as they can happen. 
In this way a considerable saving of time will be effected in making each 
observation — an important piece of economy when many are to be taken in the 
course of a day. 

It has been proposed that this instrument shall be made a means of ascertaining 
the rate with which the electric current travels. Suppose, for instance, the case of 
a break-circuit clock working at London, and registering its time simultaneously 
upon two cylinders at once — the one placed close by in London, and the other at 
the end of a long connecting wire in Liverpool ; and let it be assumed that the elec- 
tric influence that ran along the wire to register the seconds in Liverpool took a 
quarter of a second to travel to its journey's end; then, although each clock-beat 
was registered to a quarter of a second later in Liverpool than in London, there would 
be no possible means of ascertaining the fact. But now, again, imagine that in this 
state of affairs an observation is made in Liverpool of the passage of a star behind 
the transit-thread of a telescope, and that the observation is registered simul- 
taneously upon both the Liverpool and London cylinders by an offset effected 
through the instrumentality of a break-circuit wire held in the observer's hand, 
then the record in London would be made a quarter of a second later than the re- 
cord in Liverpool, owing to the time taken by the transmission of the recording 
influence. And when the records upon the two cylinders were placed side by side, 
and compai-ed together, this would become immediately apparent : in fact, there 
would be found a difference of half a second between the registers. The effect 
would have been doubled, for the second was registered in Liverpool a quarter of a 
second later than the second was in London ; and the observation made in Liverpool 
was registered another quarter of a second later in London than in Liverpool. It 
was therefore registered later, and, so to speak, by earlier time, so that both the 
lateness of the register and the earliness of the time became elements in the result. 
It will be understood that the rate assumed for the velocity of the electric 
influence is greatly exaggerated for the sake of familiar explanation. It is well 
known that it would not need any thing like a quarter of a second for the trans- 
mission from London to Liverpool. But it is anticipated that its velocity is by no 
means so great but that it may be detected by the break-circuit apparatus when the 
longest possible circuit of wires has been selected for the performance of the 
experiment. 

The astronomer-royal is contriving a modification of the break-circuit apparatus 
for the use of the National Observatory. He proposes, for economical reasons, to 
give the signal by the formation of an electric current instead of by breaking one 
already established. The record will then appear in interrupted dots instead of in 
continuous offsets. He also proposes ultimately to make the same clock both drive 
the cylinder and record the seconds. The cylinder, which is already prepared, is 
twenty inches long, and twelve in diameter, and is to be made to revolve once every 



24 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

two minutes, affording space on its surface for a six hours' record. For the present, 
the rotation of this cylinder is to be effected by a separate train of wheel-work, and 
is to be kept uniform by means of a mercurial pendulum revolving in a circle of 20 
degrees diameter instead of oscillating backwards and forwards. The driving power 
is to be transmitted to this radial arm by a modification of the steam-engine governor, 
which will be able to shut off any accidental excess of force that would otherwise 
disturb the uniformity of the result. 

We conclude our notice of the astronomical clock with the following interesting 
facts, related by Mr. N. S. Dodge, U. S. Commissioner at the World's Fair, in one 
of his communications to the Washington National Intelligencer, called " Recollections 
of the Great Exhibition :" 

" There were accessories among the contributions from our country less known 
through the medium of the press, which were doing at the same time no mean 
service in increasing the public sentiment in our favor. Some time in the early 
part of August, Col. Reid called at the office one morning, and inquired whether 
Professor Bond had yet sent in his astronomical clock. He was answered in the 
affirmative. Requesting a sight of it, he was conducted to one of the alcoves of 
the United States, where, in what had been considered by Mr. Bond himself a good 
situation, the clock and its adjuncts had been fixed. ' This will never do,' was his 
remark. ' I regard this astronomical clock as the most wonderful achievement of 
science which the world has seen since the days of Newton. It must not stand 
here. It must go into the nave.' It was suggested to the Colonel that the nave 
was now quite as much filled as it ought to be, and that, if it were not, a very plain 
piece of furniture like the clock, without the slightest pretence to beauty, would 
hardly correspond with the Fisher Boy, the Greek Slave, and other objects of the 
fine arts which were there. All would not answer, however; Col. Reid's wishes 
were law throughout the building. ' Sir David Brewster and himself,' he said, 
' would take the whole charge of it. It should be no trouble to the Commission.' 
The change of place was made, and the ugly mahogany clock, which, it may be 
safely said, not one hundred persons of the millions who visited the Exhibition 
understood, often inquired about, but still more often jeered at by the loungers 
around the statuary, received, what many an English exhibitor would have given 
a thousand pounds to obtain, a Great or Council Medal." 



SCHOOLEY AND HOUGH'S CINCINNATI CURED HAMS. 

All honor to the Queen city of the West, which " rose like an exhalation " from 
the wilderness to fulfil a destiny second to none in importance to mankind ! Her 
mission is to feed and comfort, with the good things of the earth, and nobly has she 
discharged the duty. Among her productions, the result of the labor and ingenuity 
of her citizens, although her breadstuffs are the most precious to the million, her 
hams, plain and sugar-cured, are the most acceptable to the epicure. Messrs. 
Schooley and Hough's contributions to the great exhibition in this line, almost re- 
vealed a new sense in the gourmand by their exquisiteness of flavor. Nothing 
equal to them had ever before been seen. They were served at the royal table, and 
were the gem at Alexis Soyer's Symposium, or Eating House for all nations, at Gore 
House, the aristocratical residence of the late famous Countess of Blessington. The 
Cincinnati cured ham was confessed to be the ne plus ultra of the creature-comfort 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 25 

contributions to the Great Exhibition, and as it eminently deserved, received the 
unanimous award of a prize -medal. 



HERRING'S SALAMANDER SAFE. 

The frequency of fires in crowded localities, and particularly in commercial cities, 
has, from time immemorial, tasked the inventive faculty for some means of assuring 
safety to books, deeds, documents, and the thousand and one varieties of paper and 
parchment, which constitute the records of titles to property, and of the almost in- 
finite ramifications of business. The shrivelled, parched and mutilated scroll exhi- 
bited in the vestibule of the British Museum in London, as the original Magna 
Charta, signed by King John, and which is the first charter of popular liberty in 
existence, is a standing proof of the necessity of some reliable means of securing pro- 
perty against the destructive element of fire. This precious document was reduced 
to its present illegible state, by a fire that occurred some years ago, in the apartment 
in which it was kept. Had Magna Charta been in the custody of one of Her- 
ring's Salamander Safes, it would still have existed in all of its original caligraphic 
freshness and brilliancy of feudal blazon. Silas Herring, of New York, we look on 
as one of the great benefactors of the age in its utilitarian character; for, by the 
perfection to which he has brought the manufacture of his safes, the merchant, the 
banker, the business man, the antiquarian, can sleep tranquilly, so far as fire is con- 
cerned — their records enclosed within the grasp of his indestructible Salamander, are 
henceforward secure, no matter how fiercely the flames may burn that rage around 
them. At the Great Exhibition, they were the admiration of every connoisseur, and 
carried off the prize from all competitors. We feel sure that we shall gratify every one 
of our readers, by laying before them the following interesting article, relative to 
Mr. Herring and his safes, extracted from the New York Sunday Courier : — 

Herring's Salamander Safe Factory. — As we reach the Ninth Avenue, on 
coming down Thirteenth Street, we stand opposite to a large brick building, occu- 
pying the greater part of a rectangular piece of ground, at the intersection of Green- 
wich Street. This is Herring's Salamander Safe Factory, and is one of the most 
interesting places not only in the Ward, but in the city ; it is four stories high, be- 
sides the basement, and has large vaults, which extend under the sidewalk. The 
proprietor, Silas C Herring, Esq., Ex-Alderman of the Ninth Ward, is one of the 
most energetic business men of the times, and the rise and progress of his business is 
one of the most brilliant illustrations of what Yankee enterprise, ingenuity and tact 
will accomplish that we know of. 

Mr. Herring has been the architect of his own fortunes. Coming to the city at 
an early age, from the mountains of his native state, Vermont, he had nothing to 
depend upon but the good name he inherited from his Revolutionary sire, his 
industry and those qualities of head and heart which have since made him so 
famous. 

For some time Fortune looked at him askance, but, after having played him 
several fantastic tricks, at last smiled full upon him; since which time he has 
basked in her sunshine, while her face has never for a moment been bedimmed with 
a frown. 



26 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

At the time of the great fire in this city, in the winter of 1835, Mr. Herring, 
being impressed with the great want the public were inof something which, in like 
emergencies, would protect their valuable papers and books from fire, every thing 
designed for that purpose having, with a few exceptions, proved ineffectual, set his 
wits to work to discover something which should answer the purpose. While he 
was in the midst of his experiments, he heard of the patent obtained for the like 
purpose by Enos Wilder, and being convinced of the utility of the invention, pur- 
chased the right for this and other cities from Benjamin G. Wilder, the assignee, 
and immediately commenced the manufacture of Salamander safes in this city. The 
first public test, given upon the ruins of the old Merchants' exchange, proved emi- 
nently successful, and, from that day to this, the superiority of these safes has been 
established, the use of the old wooden boxes, covered with a thin coat of damaged 
sheet iron, has been abandoned, and safes — safes that are safes — filled with the 
best "bad conductor of heat" known — plaster of Paris — are the only ones in which 
those who have any thing to preserve place entire and unlimited confidence. 

Mr. Herring has made numerous improvements upon the original safe, by means 
of which he combines greater strength, durability and safety, both from fire and 
burglars, and beauty of finish. By the introduction of new and ingenious machin- 
ery, too, he has accomplished a great saving in labor, and is, consequently, enabled 
to afford a better article at a lower price than any of his competitors. 

Last year, when all the world was vying with each other which should carry 
away the palm from the great industrial exhibition of all nations, in the grand 
Crystal Palace in London, Mr. Herring sent across the Atlantic one of his Sala- 
manders, which he placed in competition with all articles designed for a similar 
purpose. There were good safes there — many of them excellent — but the jury, 
after mature deliberation, and taking all the cpialifications of Herring's Salamander 
into consideration, awarded to him a bronze medal. 

Herring's Salamanders took their place, as evidences of Yankee skill and superi- 
ority, beside McCormick's Reaper and the Yacht America. 

But let us go inside the factory. Clang ! clang ! — buzz ! buzz ! The clink of a 
hundred hammers, the forges' roar, the rattle of iron, the rush of machinery, and 
the "noise and confusion" proceeding from one hundred and fifty men hard at work, 
falls upon the ear with an almost deafening sound. 

Passing through the paint-room, where safes of all sizes are receiving the finish- 
ing touches, we go down a flight of steps into the basement, where a dozen forgers 
are wielding their ponderous hammers, and beating into shape the glowing iron, 
which, under every blow, throws forth myriads of diamonds, like sparks lighting up 
the dark recesses of the place as bright as noonday. In one corner is a large brick 
furnace, in which, whenever a safe is made in which are any alterations by way of 
experiment — for Mr. Herring is continually studying out improvements — it is sub- 
mitted to a fiery ordeal for hours, and, among the great number that have been 
"tried," none have been "found wanting." 

Going up-stairs again, we come to the " filling-room," where the iron frames are 
filled with the non-conducting material which makes them fire-proof. The plaster, 
having been poured in on a level with the top, soon " sets," and, in the course of a 
few hours, becomes as hard and as solid almost as the iron itself, so that, besides 
being impervious to heat, it adds to the strength of the safe. 

On the floor above we find the different kinds of machinery in operation, making 
" knees," screws, and many different articles, formerly made by hand, which reflects 
much credit upon the skill and mechanical ingenuity of Mr. Morseman, the energetic 
and trustworthy foreman of the establishment, and by whom many of the machines 
were designed. Here, too, there is a ponderous pair of shears, which cuts the thickest 
iron with as much ease as a lady clips her thread with her delicate scissors, and a 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 27 

punching machine, which sticks its stubby fingers through thick bars with as little 
apparent effort as a housewife cuts out cakes from a sheet of dough. 

Going a story higher, we enter a room where iron safes are in all stages of pro- 
gress towards being finished, and ready to be filled. Among others, we are particu- 
larly struck with a " Burglar-Proof Safe," which, being made of " chilled iron," 
without a single opening in any part of it, defies the force of powder, or the edge of 
the chisel, or the sharp point of the drill to force or make an entrance. 

To test it, take up that piece of chilled iron lying on the floor beside you, and 
put it under, that drill, that is piercing through the thickest bars as though they 
were of pine wood. Whiz! — the hard point of the steel drill has flown into a 
thousand pieces, but you cannot find the slightest indentation upon the' iron. Bur- 
glars' tools, would be of no avail here — the diamond itself could not affect it. 

Going up still another flight, we come to the cabinet maker's room, where several 
workmen are busily engaged making the book-cases for the inside of the safes. — 
These cases are made of mahogany, cedar, rose wood and satin wood, &c. ; but, in 
our opinion, -none are so pretty as those made of our own native American bird's- 
eye maple. 

Here is a case intended to go inside of a jeweler's safe. Count the drawers. — 
There are over one hundred of them, of all sizes, lined with black velvet to prevent 
the beautiful articles of bijouterie from being scratched. These safes and cases are 
becoming indispensable among jewelers all over the country : for, besides affording 
a sure protection against fire, they are so arranged that the goods need not be taken 
from the drawers at all, but the drawers can be taken from the safe during the day, 
and placed in the show cases on the counter, and at night replaced in the safe, which 
is a great convenience and saving of time. 

Stepping out of the cabinet-maker's shop we pass into a room on one side, in 
which the largest salamander safe ever built is now in the course of construction. 
When finished it will weigh over fifteen tons ! ! It is twelve feet long, and eight feet 
high, by six feet deep. It is intended for the Banking House of the " Citizen's 
Bank," on the corner of Walker street and the Bowery. It will rest upon a solid 
foundation, built on purpose to receive it, and will be in fact a Fire and Burglar 
Proof Salamander Bank Vault, the first, we believe, and certainly the largest ever 
made. 

Inside of this monster safe there will be another, made to contain the bills and 
specie. This is to be entirely of chilled iron, and will be the most perfect burglar- 
proof safe ever constructed. So confident is Mr. Herring of its perfect safety, that 
he would feel willing to commit ' to its care all his worldly goods, and, giving the 
most experienced burglar the key of the lock, and all the means and appliances of 
the burglar's trade, let him work away for the rich prize until he should crack his 
heart-strings with disappointment. 

To the left is the lock factory. Mr. Herring uses Chubb's patent detector lock, 
which has never, we believe, been picked, save by our Yankee Hobbs, at the Great 
Fair. 

In addition to these, he uses Hall's patent Powder Proof Lock, which has never 
been picked, and which, from a particular examination we made of it, we should judge 
to be the best lock ever made. It is perfectly simple, not likely to get out of order, and 
the key is so small that it can be carried in one corner of a port-monnaie, and does 
not take up as much room as a tooth-pick. One of these locks was on the safe ex- 
hibited at the World's Fair, and Mr. Herring placed a thousand dollars inside the 
safe, and, hanging the key in the full view of all, offered to present the sum of 
money deposited inside to any one who could open the safe and take it. The most 
celebrated lock-picks in London tried in vain ; even Hobbs did not like to risk his 
reputation by the failure which would certainly have attended his attempt; and, at 
the end of the given time, Mr. Herring unlocked the safe and took out his money, 



28 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

which so many had tried in vain to get. This lock also received a bronze medal 
from the Jurors of the Great Exhibition, and well deserved the honor. 

Mr. Herring puts them into safes for the low prices of §10, §15, and §20, and, be- 
sides being more simple, we believe them to be far better than locks of other makers, 
which sell for prices ranging from $100 to $150. 

We have now gone over the factory, but have not been able to notice a tithe of 
what is remarkable or worthy of note. Eulogium on Mr. Herring's safes is unne- 
cessary; they are in use in every city, town and village in the Union. 

The ware-rooms are at Nos. 135, 137, and 139, Water street, known as the 
" Green Block/' where safes of all sizes, patterns and descriptions may be found al- 
ways on hand. 



DICK'S ANTI-FRICTION PRESS. 

This valuable machine elicited much admiration, from the extraordinary neatness 
and simplicity of its construction, the immense power it exercises, and the modicum 
of manual force required to drive it. The New York Express thus characterizes it : 

Dick's Anti-Friction Press is one of the noblest and most perfect arrangements 
of power ever discovered. Its applicability to the various purposes in the arts 
where immense force is required, together with its compactness, renders it most 
invaluable in the construction of all kinds of printing, embossing, and other presses. 
We have seen an embossing press omthe Methodist Rook Concern, that is superior 
to any thing else in use. For punching, the power is so intense, that a boy can 
punch cold plates of iron, a half-inch in thickness, with ease. The machine used to 
hoist the piles in the coffer dam at the Navy-yard, only weighed thirty-five hundred, 
yet it exerted the force of 680 tons lifting power by the aid of four men. We 
have seen a stump machine that weighs only about a ton, that will draw any stump 
in America, worked by three men. The vast establishment, corner of Jane and 
Washington Streets, New York, is thronged with orders from all parts of the 
country ; and the number of uses to which this invention is applied, makes the 
manufactory a curiosity-shop of the first water. 

The Scientific American also expatiates warmly in its praise : 
We have before, in no stinted terms, alluded to the triumphs of the science of friction, 
as shown in this invention ; and we look to the time when it shall be universally 
adopted for purposes of great force, as the wants of an active and enterprising world 
can demand. Experiments in application will, of course, require much of inventive 
skill : and it may be years of experience before all the varied and important uses to 
which it is applicable will be fully developed. Yet the elements of power are there 
more simple and perfect than in any other known combination of machinery, and 
as simple as nature herself; and experience and skill will seek out those applications 
in forms of beauty, strength, and convenience ; and, no doubt, ultimate success and 
triumph will attend it — in fact, we look with no little surprise at the pro 
already made in its application to hoisting, punching, shearing, pressing, stamping, 
cutting, &c. ; and, believe, we do not advise our readers against their interests, 
when we recommend a thorough investigation and fair trial of the merit of the 
invention. 

We append a lively description of the facilities possessed by this extraordinary 
machine for punching iron, taken from the Christian Advocate and Journal : 

This machine has been successfully applied to the punching of boiler, and all 
other iron ; and from its beautiful adaptation, and the absence of friction, is a complete 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S PAIR. 29 

substitute for the hydrostatic in all cases with less friction, and yet having all the 
convenience of the screw, lever, wheel, and axle. It is particularly adapted to the 
pressing of cotton, hay, hemp, cider, paper, clothes, oils, &c, &c. ; to printing, 
shearing, riveting iron, cutting saw teeth, stump machine, and for all purposes 
where an intense power in a small space is required. 

Persons interested are invited to call at the manufactory, corner of Jane and 
Washington Streets, where Mr. Dick's Agent will explain every thing in relation 
to this invention more fully than we can pretend to do. 



BORDEN'S MEATBISCUIT. 

If the man who endows his country with a new branch of commerce is a public 
benefactor, then does Mr. G-ael Borden, jr., of Texas, deserve not only the thanks 
of his native or adopted State, for we know not if he is really a native Texan, but 
those of the whole Union. The preparation of preserved meat, called by this 
gentleman Meat Biscuit, quite astonished the scientific who witnessed the chemical 
tests to which it was submitted in London last year, and it will, no doubt, become 
an article of great export from Texas to all parts of the world. As a specimen of 
preserved meat, it is found superior to any thing ever oifered for inspection before, 
retaining, for almost any period, all the nutritious and even succulent character of 
the beef or other flesh meat of which it is composed. As an article for sea 
consumption it is invaluable, preserving its excellent qualities in all climates ; it is 
not susceptible of deterioration by heat or cold, however intense. When we consider 
the vast herds of cattle roaming wild on the pampas of Mexico, of Central America 
and Brazil, which are annually slaughtered by the hunters in great numbers for 
their hides and horns, leaving the carcasses to decay on the wide waste, or feed the 
beasts or birds of prey which roam those qv,asi solitudes in all the savage grandeur 
of exclusive ownership, we foresee in the discovery of Mr. Borden — in his process 
of making Meat Biscuit, when he shall make it known — a species of commerce that 
shall spring up to enrich thousands. A ready acknowledgment of its incalculable 
usefulness was given by the jury at the World's Fair, and the highest premium, or 
a Council Medal, in bronze, was awarded to its excellent inventor. 



NEWELL'S PATENT P AR ATOUPTIC B ANK LOC K. 

Mr. Hobbs, now the world-renowned lock-picker, from the ease with which he 
contrived to defeat the ingenuity of Chubb, Bramah, and other European 
constructors of safety locks, was the agent of the Messrs. Day and Newell, the 
proprietors of the Paratouptic, at the World's Fair. As that gentleman filled a 
large space in the public eye during the Great Exhibition — and his merit indeed 
is of the highest order, since he boldly, like the knights of the middle ages, threw 
himself into the lists, open to all comers, in the speciality of lock mechanics, 
successfully overthrowing all who accepted his challenge — we have given him a 



30 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

niche and a pedestal in our picture, feeling and believing he richly deserved them. 
After vanquishing in repeated conflicts, he produced the Paratouptic, which has 
hitherto proved invulnerable, enabling him to come off with all the honors. The 
following is a very clever description of Mr. Newell's lock-, taken from the London 
Illustrated News : 

That Mr. Newell's lock is one of very ingenious and beautiful construction, there 
can be no doubt ; and, as he deserves, he has received medals from some public 
institutions and scientific bodies in America and Europe on account of it. The 
most important feature in the Newell lock is, that the owner can, with the greatest 
facility, change the interior arrangement to a new and more complex one at any 
moment he pleases, simply by altering the arrangement of the bits in the key ; and 
this is accomplished without removing the lock, or any part of it, from its position 
on the door. Its operation is as follows : — At the closing or locking of the lock, 
whilst the bolt is projecting, the moveable combination parts assume precisely the 
position prescribed to them by the key, according to the particular arrangement of 
its bits at the time the key is turned. The combination parts do not consist in one 
set of tumblers only, such as are found in most other locks, but there are three 
distinct sets or component parts, fitting into each other. When the bolt is 
projected, it dissolves the mutual connection of the constituent pieces, and carries 
along with it such as are designedly attached to it, and which assume the particular 
position given them by the key in its revolution. These parts are rendered 
permanent in their given form by means of a lever adapted for the purpose, while 
the parts not united with the bolt are pressed down by their springs to their original 
places. If now the bolt is to be returned again — in other words, if the lock is to 
be unlocked — the constituent pieces or tumblers, which are in the original state, 
must, by means of the key, be again raised into that position in which they were 
when the lock was closed ; otherwise the constituent parts attached to the bojt would 
not lock in with the former, and the bolt could not be returned. Nothing, therefore, 
but the precise key which had locked the lock can effect the object. This lock is 
said to have another peculiar feature, one of considerable value, that it will withstand 
the action of gunpowder. 



COLT'S REPEATING PISTOL. 

One of the most important inventions in fire-arms, of the present age, is 
unquestionably the repeating pistol. Col. Colt has succeeded in imparting to this 
weapon a simplicity of movement that enables the most unintelligent to use it 
without the least fear of deranging its mechanism. It is truly a formidable affair, 
giving to individuals what ordnance gives to masses in hostile array, a compensation 
for disparity of numbers. An archer of skill in the fourteenth or fifteenth century 
— an English bowman, for example, at Cressy or Agincourt — was said to carry half 
a dozen lives at his girdle, alluding to the arrows stuck there. A similar remark, 
much truer, however, in the present day, may be employed in reference to a soldier 
with one of Colt's deadly revolvers. The following extract from the Maidstone 
(English) Gazette, gives as accurate a description of the weapon as is extant. "We 
apprize the reader that Maidstone is a town in Kent, and is the chief cavalry depot 
in the kingdom : 




4 




AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S EAIR. 31 

the Kaffir war, we quoted a suggestion from a correspondent of the Times, that a 
Burgher corps should be formed, armed with Colt's revolver pistols. We had then 
the notion that the pistol was something like our ordinary six-barrel revolvers, 
which load at the muzzle, and are, consequently, very deficient in force. In 
examining the American department in the Great Exhibition, last week, we came 
upon a stall of arms exhibited by Mr. Colt, the inventor, which is situated on the 
right hand side, in the principal aisle, a short distance from the eastern entrance. 
The result of examination and inquiry convinced us if the Great Exhibition confers 
no other national benefit, that of having public attention called to this formidable 
arm, is one of no ordinary importance. We presume not to pass any opinion of our 
own on the purely professional question of the propriety of adopting this arm, but 
we feel that we shall do a public service by calling attention to the subject, in a 
town in which our training cavalry depot is situate, by showing what the Americans 
have done, and what American military authorities have recommended. 

The Colt repeating pistol has a single barrel, six charges being contained in a 
cylinder at the breach, of which the nipples for the caps are placed (not, as on our 
revolvers, on the periphery of the cylinder,) but on the end of the cylinder. All 
that is needed, is to pull the trigger for each discharge. The balls may be discharged 
in as many seconds. One of these pistols has perforated seven inch deal boards, 
at a distance of thirty yards. 

Amongst the most humiliating circumstances in the recent war at the Cape, was 
that of a horde of Kaffirs rushing on a small detachment of our troops, and wresting 
their muskets from their hands after the first discharge, before they could reload. 
Here the courage and energy of the savage were more than a match for the more 
disciplined soldier, who, after the first fire, was completely at the mercy of those who 
were not hit. The musket may be an admirable weapori for operating on close 
masses of men, but in the irregular impetuous rush of such warlike tribes as the 
Kaffirs, the Affghans, the American Indians, and the New Zealanders, a different 
description of weapon is requisite, which will give the largest number of shots at a 
given time. Had the Kaffirs been attacked by cavalry, armed with such weapons, 
instead of Sir H. Smith marching and counter-marching his 2,500 men to keep the 
route open between his line of forts and the sea, the enemy would by this time have 
been hunted out of the colony. 

Our readers will however best learn the value of this improved weapon, by 
consulting the opinion of United States soldiers, who have examined and have 
used it, as reported in a parliamentary paper of the American Congress. The 
committee of Congress on Military Affairs, reported as follows : 

" The positive evidence which has been submitted to the committee, is of a 
character which needs no recommendation. It is only necessary to say, that Major 
General Taylor, General Twiggs, Major General John A. Quitman, Brigadier 
General Shields, Brigadier General Pierce, Colonel Croghan, Inspector General, 
Colonel Harney, Colonel Jefferson Davis, Major McCulloch, Captain Samuel H. 
Walker, Captain B. S. Roberts, Lieutenant B. F. McDonald, G. W. Kendal, Colonel 
W. T. Haskell, Colonel W. H. Russell, Major JJP. Gaines, Doctor C. B. Zabriskie, 
and J. L. Freaner, all now, or recently, in active service in the Mexican war, have 
expressed themselves in decided terms, in favor of these arms ; and that the array 
of facts furnished by some of these officers cannot fail to enforce the opinions which 
they have expressed upon this subject. Under all these circumstances, your 
committee agree in opinion with the officers above named, when they state, that one 
hundred cavalry, armed with the repeating pistol, would be at least as efficient as 
three hundred armed in the ordinary way. They believe, moreover, that economy, 
as well as the efficiency which would be given to our force, particularly for all the 
service that may be expected from our army for years to come, renders it advisable 
that all the mounted men belonging to the military establishment, be supplied with 



32 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

these pistols, and that a sufficient number of them be kept on hand to meet any 
unexpected emergency." 

This paper contains a host of testimonials from other military men. 



NUNN'S & CLARK'S PIANO-FORTES. 

The piano-fortes manufactured by these gentlemen, were acknowledged by the 
most competent judges at the Great Exhibition, to be second to none throughout 
the world ; and, indeed, few instruments of the same kind, from any establishment 
on either side of the Atlantic, equalled those magnificent squares, the fame of which 
is familiar to the ears of almost every amateur and professional musician in England 
and America. Hear the London Art Journal on the subject : 

America, among her consignments of manufactured objects, contributes several 
worthy of being introduced into our pages. The United States present a wide field 
for the operations of skilful artisans in ornamental articles : as their wealth increases 
so do also their taste for the elegant and the beautiful, and their desire to possess 
what will minister to the refinements of life. This is ever the case with nations, as 
they advance in intellectual power, and in the just appreciation of what confers real 
dignity on a people : and their moral strength keeps pace with their progress in in- 
telligence. The piano-forte here introduced is designed and manufactured by Messrs. 
Nunn & Clark, of New York. It is richly carved in rose-wood, and the execution of 
the work is creditable to the skill and ingenuity of the workmen who have produced it. 

The London Illustrated News says : 

We now proceed to notice the American contributions. They show a high- 
er state of excellence and finish in piano-fortes than in many other manu- 
factures, which may be traced to the high price they obtain for their instru- 
ments, which enables them to employ first-rate workmen ; from their having no fo- 
reign competitors ; for it is a singular fact, that while we export pianos to India, 
South America, Australia, Spain, and other parts of the world, our own instruments 
will not resist the dry climate of the United States, though we could supply them 
with a cheaper and in many cases a better instrument than they can manufac- 
ture. It appears the wood requires seasoning in their country; but we cannot help 
thinking, however, that attention on the part of our manufacturers to the causes 
which produce it, might enable them to conquer this defect. The American manu- 
facturers excel in grand squares ; and their instruments of this class will advantage- 
ously compare with the best of our own make. Their grands are by no means infe- 
rior, though not equal to ours. We have specimens of squares, from Nunn & Clark, 
and Meyer ; and of grands and squares, from Chickering, Pirson, &c. The square 
from Nunn & Clark is a noble instrument of its class. 



GEMUNDER'S VIOLINS. 

Among the beautiful specimens of manufactured violins, sent to the Great Exhi- 
bition by Mr. Gemunder, of Boston, was one of exquisite tone — an imitation Jo- 
seph Guarnerius — which could hardly be excelled. According to the testimony of 
the jury, and of the most accomplished musicians, it was a rare instrument, indeed, 
and well merited the prize medal which was decreed it. Mr. Gemunder has esta- 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 33 

blished for himself, by bis success at the World's Fair, and at other similar exhibi- 
tions, a reputation as a musical instrument maker, second to none either here in this 
country or elsewhere. Mr. G. imitates with astonishing success the constructions 
of the ancient Italian masters, such as Cremonas, Guarnerius, &c. 



POWER & WEIGHTMAN'S CHEMICALS. 

The chemicals sent to the World's Fair by Messrs. Power & Weightman, of Phil- 
adelphia, were about the best of the kind exhibited, and proved conclusively that 
these gentlemen had brought to their aid, in their particular manufacture, a very 
large amount of science. They received the just reward of their skill and enter- 
prize, viz : a prize medal. 



C. H. EISENBRANT'S FLUTES. 

Mr. Eisenbrant of Baltimore took a prize medal at the Great Exhibition, for a 
flute of particularly elegant construction. It was remarkable for a volume of sound, 
and for facilities to the player for filling the embouchure, that were quite astonishing 
to the old manufacturers of the fascinating instrument. Its sweetness was also quite 
as remarkable, and the whole of its attributes served to stamp Mr. E. as one of the 
first musical instrument makers of the day. 



OSWEGO PURE STARCH. 

This elegant preparation was the subject of much remark, among the scientific at 
the Great Exhibition. — Its quality was found to be of extraordinary purity, and 
thereby it offered a guarantee to all who are in the habit of using starch, that no 
other preparation of that article could give. The following are the results of an 
analysis of a sample of the Oswego Pure Starch, obtained by A. A. Hayes, Esqr., 
State Assayer at Boston. It had been submitted to that officer by Israel Saunders, 
Esqr. : 

The sample presented prismatic fragments of very white starch granules, which, 
when magnified, presented their forms and exhibited the appearance shown by starch 
from grain. 1000 parts afforded of matters soluble in cold water, and consisting of 
Dextrine, Gluten and Lime Salts 1.20 ; Carbonate of Lime, Phosphate of Lime and 
Magnesia 1.56 j or, as matter apart from pure starch, in all, 2.76 in 1000 parts. — 
This proportion is much less than commercial starch affords generally. 

From the result here stated, it will readily be inferred that this is an article of 
uncommon purity. In the originate proportion of moisture, nearly absolute free- 
dom from other vegetable principles and earthy matter, it agrees with the finest 
qualities, while its whiteness and the absence of organic acids, indicate that excellent 
materials only are used in its production. 



34 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

LAWRENCE, STONE & Co. BAY STATE MILLS, BOSTON. 
TARTAN MADE FROM NATIONAL WOOL. 

The articles sent from the Bay State Mills, consisting of sheetings, woollens, and 
carpeting, were of a quality that spoke volumes for the skill and cnterprize of our 
Yankee manufacturers. Fabrics like these, one sought in vain among the contribu- 
tions of countries that had possessed similar establishments double the period with- 
in which woollen factories had sprung up in America. Messrs. Lawrence, Stone & 
Co.'s articles even dared comparison with the best European productions in the same 
specialty, and suffered thereby not a jot, either in beauty or quality. Their speci- 
mens of Tartan, manufactured from national wool were magnificent, and consequently 
united all suffrages in their favor. Our manufactures are necessarily precious in 
the eyes of every patriot, from the fact of their being in their infancy, comparatively 
speaking, and the triumphs won therein by our own fellow-citizens, in competition with 
the foreigners, produce a corresponding flush of pride. The prize medal gained 
by the proprietors of the Bay State Mills is therefore peculiarly grateful to the feel- 
ings of the country. 



LOUDERBACK'S PRESERVED PEACHES. 

This is another triumph for Cincinnati, in her character of Queen of Western 
produce. Louderback's peaches were most luscious fruit, and were lusciously pre- 
served. The excellent manner in which they had been done up, effectually preser- 
ving every quality of the peach, excited the admiration of the judges who tested 
their merits in comparison with other similar contributions. A prize medal was un- 
hesitatingly awarded to Mr. Louderback. 



STONE-DRESSING MACHINE. 

This is a very important aid to industry, and deservedly received a prize at the 
World's Fair. It is the invention of Mr. Robert Eastman, of Concord, N. H., and 
has elicited marks of admiration from various bodies, before whom it has been 
brought. For the following accurate description of the Stone-Dressing Machine, we 
are indebted to the report of the sixth exhibition and fair of the Massachusetts 
Charitable Mechanic Association, held in Boston in 1850. 

By the committee of judges of machinery, &c, viz. : Simeon Borden, Ebcnezer 
Bradbury, Otis Pettee, Erastus B. Bigelow, and Holmes Hinckley. 

Three patent Stone-Dressing Machines. A machine for dressing stone by power, 
has long been regarded as a great desideratum, and has been the object of many 
expensive, though unsuccessful experiments. One great difficulty has been found, 
in making the cutting tools of a quality to stand the action of the stone, unless at 
such cost as to render their use unprofitable. This difficulty is admirably overcome 
by Mr. Eastman's invention, which consists in the employment of chilled cast iron 
burrs, or rolling cutters. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 35 

In his Circular he says, " it is now ascertained that iron, by a peculiar process 
of chilling in casting, may be converted into an intense or diamond-like hardness, 
that perfectly fits it for reducing with great facility and economy, the surface of 
stone. The cutters made in this way retain a sufficient degree of sharpness, for a 
long time, and can be maintained at a small cost, being wholly formed and finished 
in casting." These cutters are brought into action, by appropriate machinery with 
self-adjusting feed motions, varying according to the work to be done. 

In dressing grind stones and other circular forms, the stones are made to re- 
volve, when the burrs or cutters, which are mounted in sliding rests, are brought 
into action ; but for straight surfaces, the stones are placed upon a traversing feed 
bed, and the cutters, which are mounted upon a revolving cylinder, are placed above 
them. The cutters are so arranged as to turn freely on their axis when brought in 
contact with the stone, and as they roll over it, they crush it away in the form of 
scales and dust. By varying the shape and arrangement of the burrs or cutters, 
ornamental surfaces may be produced, such as moulding, fluted columns, &c. 

The Committee consider this a useful invention, especially for dressing marble 
and freestone, and award the inventor a Gold Medal. 



ERICSSON'S SEA LEAD, ALARM BAROMETER, PYROMETER, 

FLUID METER, DISTANCE INSTRUMENT, AND 

HYDROSTATIC GAUGE. 

Captain Ericsson has been long known to the mechanical world, as one of the 
lights of the age. He is the inventor of many valuable instruments to aid philo- 
sophical investigation and research, and has received the most flattering testimonials 
of his distinguished merit, from some of the most learned bodies in Europe and 
America. Of two of these valuable instruments — the Sea lead and the Alarm Ba- 
rometer, — we have given pictorial representations in our chromo-lithograph. Capt. 
E.'s contributions carried off prizes at the World's Fair, amidst the enthusiastically 
expressed admiration of the jury that sat on their examination. 

The object of the Sea lead is that of taking soundings at sea without rounding the 
vessel to the wind, and independently of the length of the lead line. We are can- 
didly informed by Capt. Ericsson that it is a modification of an instrument contrived 
several years ago, in conjunction with Francis B. Ogden, Esq., U. S. Consul at 
Liverpool, a gentleman practically skilled as a sailor, and known for his scientific 
attainments. The principal merit of this very useful instrument is accorded to Mr. 
Ogden ; it has stood the test of practice for more than twelve years, and proved of 
much service to British and American surveying vessels. It is at all times incon- 
venient, and attended with loss of time to cast the ordinary deep sea-lead ; but at 
night, in narrow channels, when accurate soundings are most needed, the rounding 
of the ship to the wind becomes dangerous. The instances are very numerous of 
fine ships having overrun their reckoning, being lost on the coasts, because their 
commanders, anxious to make quick passages, could not afford to lose the time re- 
quired in taking soundings on the old plan. 

The advantages attending the employment of the barometer for naval purposes, 
are now fully appreciated by seamen. The instances of danger averted by paying 



3o AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

attention to this truthful monitor are too numerous to be recorded. But its indi- 
cation is silent, and therefore requires a degree of watchfulness incompatible with the 
duties of a sailor. To secure to him the full benefit of the Marine Barometer, and 
to enable him to dispense with precautions at night, which impede his progress, and 
to give security at all times, is the object of the Alarm Barometer. We take the 
following description of this valuable instrument from the London Illustrated News : 

The principle of the alarm barometer is, that, so soon as the mercury sinks below 
any given altitude, the falling of the mercury causes a gong to be sounded. Thus, 
at sea, without being required continually to watch the decreased movements of the 
mercury of the barometer, the seaman, (the helmsman who is never off his post) is 
warned of the approaching storm, and is thus enabled to make preparations, by tak- 
ing in the sails and observing other precautions. This instrument consists of a 
glass tube of the ordinary description, but which is considerably increased in diame- 
ter at its upper end : the lower end is dipped into a semi-globular cup containing 
mercury ; the object of the enlargement of the glass at the top is to cause a large 
quantity of mercury to be discharged into the cup with a slight fall of the column. 
The gong is sounded by means of a hammer impelled by a spring, the mercury in 
its fall descending into the cup and disturbing the equilibrium of a lever, which dis- 
engages a catch connected with the hammer. The cup is equipoised by a weight 
adjustable on a lever, which is graduated for the sake of easy adjustment. 

The Pyrometer is an exceedingly useful instrument, invented by Capt. Ericsson 
for the purpose of obviating the defects of the "Wedgewood scale. In introducing it 
to the public he says : 

This instrument is intended as a standard measure of temperature from the freez- 
ing point of water up to the melting-point of iron; the tension of a permanent vol- 
ume of atmospheric air or azote, measured by the height of a column of mercury 
under a vacuum, being the indicator. For the sake of uniformity, the freezing and 
boiling points of water are fixed at 32° and 212° respectively. The indications of 
this proposed standard will accordingly bear a direct relation to the Fahrenheit 
scale. The inherent defects of the mercurial thermometer are sufficiently well 
known to every one, but its insufficiency is felt principally by the practical man — 
the artizan — whose process or manufacture requires the application of great heat, his 
success mainly depending on a well-regulated temperature. To him the insufficiency 
of the mercurial thermometer proves a daily embarrasment. Apart from mere 
practical considerations, the want of proper means for measuring the intensity of 
heat has left a gap in physical science ; our ignorance in relation to high tempera- 
tures is a reflection on our boasted advance in exact knowledge of physical laws. 
The utter fallacy of the "Wedgewood scale will become apparent to any one who in- 
vestigates the subject at all. The writer having been long engaged in experiments 
requring a precise knowledge of the expansion of permanent gases under a high 
temperature, found already previous to 1835, that no reliance whatever could be 
placed on the said scale. 

The reciprocating Fluid Metre is another of this ingenious officer's important in- 
ventions, which drew forth unqualified admiration from engineers at the Great Ex- 
hibition. It has been fully tested by the directors of the Croton aqueduct, New 
York, who have applied it as a check on the quantity of water used by the large 
manufacturers and others supplied from that celebrated conduit. The meter is 
placed in the water itself; thus tight joints, packings, &c, are avoided. The mea- 
surement of the water is effected by two double-acting plungers connected to cranks 
working at right angles. The motion of the plungers is checked before the cranks 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 37 

reach the full up and down stroke, by means of stops acting directly on the plungers. 
In the piston-rods are oval slots, made so much wider than the diameter of the crank- 
pins, so as to allow the latter to move through an arc of 20 degrees whilst the piston 
remains stationary. It is worthy of notice, that, as the meter works within the 
medium to be measured, an equilibrium of pressure is nearly established, so that 
friction and injurious wear of the moving parts are avoided. The meters are made 
of different sizes, those in use at the Croton Works having plungers of the respec- 
tive diameters of 5, 9, and 21 inches. By the meter having 21-inch plungers, a 
quantity of water equal to 70,000 cubic feet is measured in twenty-four hours. A 
register of the usual construction is applied to the meter, which is set once a year, 
and the quantity of water which has passed through the meter is at any time ascer- 
tained by inspection. The accuracy with which the quantity of water is ascertained 
by its displacement by means of a plunger of fixed size working between definite 
stops, cannot be questioned. 

We extract from the London Illustrated News the following description of the 
Distance Instrument: — 

The distance instrument is intended especially for the use of naval men in ascer- 
taining distances at sea, and consists of a reflector similar to that used in quadrants, 
which is firmly attached to a spindle, an object glass, and a sight, by which the 
necessary angles are measured. The spindle is turned by a lever, at the lower end 
of which is a slot, in which a sliding nut moves freely up and down. In the sliding 
nut is fixed a thumb-screw, furnished with a pinion which works into cogs formed in 
the circumference of a graduated index-plate, which plate is attached to a socket slid- 
ing on the main stem of the instrument. The index-plate is graduated into feet or 
yards, and the scale is found by taking the supposed height of a given mast as the 
base line, the tangent to the earth's curvature being determined accordingly : then, 
by dividing the curve between the bottom of the mast or vertical base line and the 
horizon into equal spaces — say of 10 yards each — commencing at a given distance 
from the vertical line, and calculating the sines of the various angles which are 
afterwards engraved on the index-plate — the instrument is ready for use. When 
about to use the instrument, the object glass has to be adjusted so as to bring the 
real and reflected horizons in a line, and the point on the scale of the index-plate 
placed directly under the fixed index shows the required distance. For different 
classed vessels, index-plates, with graduations to suit the various heights of their 
respective masts, will be required. An instrument similar to the one at the Great 
Exhibition has been practically tried by a distinguished naval officer of the United 
States, who, from an eminence on shore, was able to take the distances of various 
objects at sea with great precision, the height of the point of observation being in 
the first instance accurately ascertained. 

The Hydrostatic Gauge was invented for the purpose of measuring the volume of 
fluids under pressure, and consists of a thin copper sphere, of about 7 inches diame- 
ter, the interior being gilt. In the top of the sphere is a conical steel plug, formed 
with a cavity, and ground accurately to fit into a proper collar attached to the 
sphere ; a vessel is suspended inside the sphere, immediately under the steel plug, 
and in the bottom of the plug is a small aperture formed in the side of a hollow 
projection. This delicate instrument furnishes adequate means for determining 
with the utmost precision, the rate of compression peculiar to fluids. 



38 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 



NEW YORK IRON BRIDGE COMPANY. 

For beauty of appearance, where airy lightness combines with perfect stability, 
commend us to the bridges put up by the New York Iron Bridge Company. They 
extort admiration from all who behold them. Viewed at a moderate distance, no- 
thing can exceed the fine effect produced by their delicate outlines : examined when 
close to them, the conviction enters the mind in an instant, of their almost eternal 
durability. As an illustration of the estimation in which they arc held, we affix an 
extract from the Lowell (Mass.) Daily Journal and Courier, relative to the Iron 
Bridge put up at Middlesex village, by the Nashua and Lowell Rail Road Com- 
pany : 

The Bridge was erected at the suggestion and under the direction of George 
Stark, Esqr., Engineer of the Nashua and Lowell Road. The iron in the bridge 
weighs a trifle over twenty-four thousand pounds — it is fifty feet in length, and cost 
$37.50 per foot in length — or $1,875. It was manufactured and put up by the New 
York Iron Bridge Company, M. M. White, Esqr., Agent, 7-4 Broadway. This form 
of the bridge was patented by Colonel Long, of the United States Topographical 
Engineers. 

The bridge at Middlesex is warranted to bear fifty tons, and on trial with forty 
upon it, sprung less than five-eighths of an inch, which it immediately regained after 
the load was removed. The bridge has a light, airy and handsome appearance — 
and must, from the nature of the material of which it is constructed, last as long, 
almost, as time itself. A heavy train under the sharpest speed makes but little 
more impression upon it than if it were stone. Those qualified to judge, express 
themselves very favorably towards this bridge, and we should not be surprised if 
three-fourths of the railroad bridges required to be reconstructed in this vicinity for 
ten years to come, were built after this, or a similar pattern. 

The Buffalo Commercial Advertiser gives the following account of an Iron Bridge 
lately built in that city : 

The New York Iron Bridge Co. have just completed an iron bridge over the Buf- 
falo Creek for the White's Corners and Buffalo Plank Road Co., which establishes 
the fact that iron is the best material for long spans of bridges, when strength and 
durability as well as ornamental structures are desirable. 

This bridge is situated on the " Abbott Road," about two miles from the foot of 
Main street. It is what is denominated a Suspension Truss Bridge, upon an im- 
proved plan, partaking of all the important principles of the Suspension bridge with- 
out its objectionable points. 

It was constructed under the superintendence of Mr. M. M. White, who is agent, 
and one of the Company engaged in the manufacture of this description of bridges 
in the city of New York, where its parts were made, and transported to this place. 
This bridge is of 160 feet clear span — being the longest yet constructed of iron in 
this country. It has two carriage ways, each twelve feet in width, and the Trusses 
are fifteen feet in depth. 

Taken as a whole, it is a magnificent structure, and in detail it presents a most 
perfect specimen of mechanical architecture. It was subjected to a pressure of 50 
tons, (the test stipulated in the contract) and was observed to settle only about three- 
fourths of an inch in the center, but when the weight was removed it immediately 
resumed its former position, and there was scarcely any vibration discernible while 
two heavy carriages were driving over it at a time on a brisk trot. 

There can be no doubt of the perfect success of this bridge. It has beauty, 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S PAIR. 6\) 

strength .and utility combined, which are highly desirable considerations and espe- 
cially in cities, where unseemly wooden structures often offend our ideas of taste. 
It is a curiosity well worth a ride out to see, independent of the opportunity offered 
to enjoy a delightful drive over the beautiful plank road. 

Another of these beautiful bridges thrown across the Appomattox River, (Va.) 
is thus spoken of by the Richmond Daily Despatch, of Oct. 15, 1851 : 

Monday the iron bridge on the Danville Rail Road across the Appomattox River 
was fully tested. The President, and Messrs. Gifford and Harvie, Directors, and a 
large number of gentlemen were present. A weight of more than a ton to t^e 
foot, was put upon the bridge, and the Engine crossed it at the rate of 25 miles an 
hour, without making a pressure of more than one quarter of an inch. The Chief 
Engineer declared that it could sustain a pressure of 600 tons, three times heavier 
than the test applied. The result of the trial gave entire satisfaction. The work is 
done faithfully, and the structure is not only entirely sufficient as to strength, but 
promises to render the effect of use and time uncommonly well. 

The iron bridges over the Rivanna River and Moore's Creek, (Va.) are exceed- 
ingly elegant structures. The JeffersoDian Republican, Charlottesville, (Va.) of 
June 27, 1850, contains the subjoined in relation thereto : 

On Thursday last, in the presence of a large concourse of our citizens, both these 
bridges were tested. On the first bridge 40 tons of dead weight were laid, 20 tons 
to each span, then three loaded cars with 40 tons, within a space of 36 feet, were 
sent over it, the locomotive and tender following, weighing some 20 tons more. The 
second bridge was tested in a similar way, the weight upon it being 84 tons, besides 
the locomotive and tender, 20 tons more ; the deflection with the maximum weight 
that the locomotive could move on the bridge did not exceed three-fourths of an inch, 
and the bridges, after the train passed over, came up to their true positions, and we 
understand that it is next to impossible that so heavy a weight on any one span will 
ever go over them again ; while the train passed over, there was no visible oscilla- 
tion. After the engine had passed the first bridge, it was unable to push up the 
load, and was obliged to go back to get a start, and for this purpose passed over the 
bridge at the rate of twenty miles an hour. 

The tests to which both bridges were subjected proved entirely satisfactory to the 
Directors, Officers and Engineers of the Rail Road Company, and to our citizens. 

These bridges were manufactured by the Iron Bridge Company of New York city, 
and were put up by their agent, Mr. M. M. White; the one over the Rivanna Ri- 
ver is 200 feet long, and forty feet high ; that over Moore's Creek is 354 feet long, 
and sixty feet high ; and are the longest iron bridges erected in the country ; the 
spans on the Rivanna bridge are 91 feet long, Moore's Creek, 81 feet, and are 
longer than the spans of any bridge ever built in the United States, except wire 
suspension bridges. The iron of which these bridges were manufactured is triple 
refined English iron, and the cast iron from Salisbury, Connecticut, every piece of 
it being separately tested by 14 tons weight before it was accepted. The Rivanna 
bridge rests upon three massive stone pillars, and the Moore's Creek upon five ; the 
whole work is beautifully constructed, and reflects credit upon all concerned. 

The Harlem Rail Road has an iron bridge which has been erected five years ; the 
Lowell Rail Road, and the New York and Erie Rail Roads, also have iron bridges, 
of the same class with those over the Rivanna River and Moore's Creek. 



40 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 



POWER'S GREEK SLAVE. 

So much has been written about Power's famous statue of the Greek slave, that 
really it would be a work of supererogation to hazard any thing here, in the way of 
labored panegyric. Suffice it to say that as a piece of sculpture, for unaffected sim- 
plicity, and pure art, it was in its peculiar line, the gem of the Great Exhibition. 
There was nothing certainly to exceed it, as a highly wrought and poetical repre- 
settation, " in dull cold marble," of youth, and beauty and sorrow — 

" For ever silent, and for ever sad." 

The following admirable critique on the Greek slave, appeared in the London Art 
Journal some time previously to the exhibition. 

In the summer of 1845 there was exhibited at the rooms of Messrs. Graves, in 
Pall Mall, a statue in marble by Hiram Power, an American sculptor. It was 
called the " Greek Slave," and attracted a large number of visitors by the fame of 
its excellence. The idea of the work was suggested by the practice of exposing 
female slaves for sale in the bazaar of Turkey. The figure is upright, and rests the 
right hand upon a support, over which is thrown a modern Greek drapery, both hands 
being confined by a chain. 

There is much in this work to remind the learned in sculpture of the best produc- 
tions of the antique ; in the simple severity of its outline, and in the intellectual 
expression which dwells on that sorrowful face, it bears a close affinity to the 
Greek school. Appealing to the sympathies and sensibilities of our nature, rather 
than to those feelings which call forth words of delight, we are yet won to admi- 
ration by its touching beauty and its unexaggerated ideality. The sculptor has 
aimed high in his purpose of uniting modesty with scorn, and shame with 
rebuke, but he has undoubtedly carried out his intent, boldly and successfully. 
It was no easy task to place a young and high-minded female in such a position 
without a chance of offending delicacy ; but the great charm of Mr. Power's work 
is, that it repels the very thoughts which would be likely to arise under such cir- 
cumstances, and produces others totally at variance with them — sympathy and com- 
passion for the captive ; execration for those who could make merchandise of the 
beauty and the innocence of the fairest of God's creatures : — 

" As if their value could be justly told 
By pearls, and gems, and heaps of shining gold." 

While admiring the truth that genius exclusively belongs not to age or race, 
and that its elements are as likely to dwell in the minds of the untutored savage as 
in the more favored inhabitants of a civilized state, the first sight of this statue — 
coming from the hand of a sculptor whose country has hitherto made comparatively 
little progress in this, the highest department of Art — afforded us no little surprise, 
but it also gave us infinite pleasure. We had not even heard of the name of Hiram 
Power, and were consequently astonished to find so fine a work from one whose 
fame had not already reached the shores of England. But we subsequently learned 
that Mr. Power had been studying for a considerable time in Florence. In his 
studio there, Captain Grant saw a small model of the " Greek Slave," in plaster, and 
was so struck with the beauty of the subject, that he immediately gave a commission 
to the sculptor to execute it in marble. It is still in the possession of that gentle- 
man, who congratulates himself, and not without reason, upon having one of the most 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 41 

chaste and classical compositions of modern sculpture. Certainly his taste and 
judgment in thus bringing to light, and securing a noble production of Art, cannot 
be too highly commended. 



HAYDEN'S COTTON DRAWING FRAME. 

This exceedingly useful invention was the object of intense interest to mechanics 
during the exhibition. It was constantly surrounded by multitudes, who watched 
its modus operandi with a curiosity that bid defiance to all fatigue, in standing and 
gazing. We take the description hereto subjoined, from the London Morning 
Chronicle. 

Among the numerous interesting and valuable additions recently made to the 
Exhibition by the United States, may be mentioned a cotton drawing frame, fitted 
with a new regulator — the invention of Mr. Whiting Hayden, of Willimantic, Con- 
necticut, and which attracts a large amount of deserved attention. It is placed 
among the splendid collection of cotton machinery shown by Messrs. Hibbart and 
Piatt, and is shown at work. By means of Mr. Hayden's improvement, the regu- 
lating of the cotton roving can be ensured, even though the cotton may not have 
been weighed out at the "lap" machine. 

The small end of the trumpet-mouthed tube through which the swing passes after 
leaving the drawing rollers, is made with a very narrow aperture, and mounted on 
the upright arm of a cranked^ lever, and upon the horizontal arm there is a weight, 
which is changed according to the number of the yarn required. If the cotton pass- 
ing through the tube is too thick, it drags the tube with it towards the delivery 
rollers ; and in so doing, it also pulls a small pinion out of gear with one wheel, and 
into gear with another, which is mounted on a screwed axis, furnished with a tra- 
velling nut and a guide fork — which moves a strap endways along a pair of cones 
towards the small end of the driving cone and the large end of the driven cone, 
causing the latter to move slower ; and the back roller in this machine is driven 
from the spindle on which the last cone is fixed ; that also is moved at less speed, 
and feeds the roving more slowly into the front roller, which is always kept at one 
speed, thus reducing it to the proper size. The roving now being smaller, the bal- 
ance-weight on the lever overcomes the friction of the roving in the tube, and draws 
it away from the delivery rollers, and at the same time releases the pinion from its 
contact with the toothed wheel on the end of the screwed spindle. In case the rov- 
ing is too small, the weight moves the lever so as to take the tube further away from 
the rollers, and throws the pinion into gear with a second wheel geared into the first, 
reversing its movements so that the nut and strap are brought towards the large end 
of the driving cone ; and the back roller is then moved faster, and supplies more 
cotton until it is of the proper thickness to keep the pinion just between the two 
wheels, but in contact with neither, until some other irregularity of size in the rov- 
ing either moves the tube towards the rollers, or allows the weight to draw it away 
from them. From ten to fifteen per cent, increased production is claimed for the 
invention, and it certainly gives a great regularity of roving, even if the lap has been 
made irregular. By varying the weight on the lever a range of about six numbers 
of fineness can be given without changing the wheels, and great advantage is also 
found in damp weather, as it then saves the trouble which is always found in a 
variation of numbers on the common plan. 



42 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

D. SIMMONS AND CO'S EDGE TOOLS, AXES, ADZES, &c. 

The edge tools of Messrs. Simmons & Co. of New York, consisting of axes, 
adzes, &c., bore off the prize from many competitors. They were found to be of 
unsurpassed temper, forged in a style that bade defiance to Sheffield in England, 
and St. Etienne in France, to excel. The exhibition of these articles created a 
great sensation among iron-workers, and artizans in general, from the preconceived 
notion that out of England it was vain to look for first class edge tools. The 
manufacturers deserve well of the Republic for their courage in descending into the 
arena against adversaries who had long enjoyed the prestige of invincibility in their 
cutlery. 



BROWN AND WELLS'S JOINER'S TOOLS, BRACES 
AND BITS, &c. 

The joiner's tools exhibited by Messrs. Brown & Wells of Moyamensing, Pa., 
were much admired, and were unanimously decreed a prize medal by the examining 
jury. Their construction and metal were of equal merit, and fully established the 
reputation for skill of the public-spirited and enterprising exhibitors. The award 
of excellence was particularly gratifying to the pride of our county, since it was in 
a specialty, viz., tools of iron fabric, in which for years and years the British have 
stood unrivalled. 



CORNELIUS, BAKER, AND CO'S CHANDELIER. 

One of the most elegant of the contributions from the States to the Great 
Exhibition, and which obtained a prize, was a chandelier from the well-known house 
of Cornelius, Baker, and Co. of Philadelphia. The following notice, accompanied 
with an elegant engraving of this beautiful article, appeared in the columns of the 
London Illustrated News : 

Although the exhibitors in the United States department chiefly distinguish 
themselves for works of severe utility, and in these with very remarkable success, 
there are not wanting amongst them some who have devoted their talents to more 
decorative productions ; and of these Messrs. Cornelius and Co., of Philadelphia, 
are entitled to the first rank. Their chandeliers, candelabra, lamps, &c, exhibit 
great variety and beauty of design, excellent qualities as to the materials (brass 
lacquered), and admirable workmanship. 

The prize chandelier measures 15 feet in height, by 6£ in width. It contains 
fifteen lights. The branches are composed of a succession of scrolls, from which 
hang bunches of fruit; the canopy is composed of flowers intertwining in variegated 
forms the convolvulus and lily ; and the body, though also richly ornamented, 
displays great lightness, a point which the designer has aimed at in all his works, 
and with great success. 

The lard lamps exhibited by the same firm display remarkable richness of color, 
and commendable beauty of form. They are so constructed as to convey a large 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S PAIR. 16 

quantity, of oxygen to the combustion point, to the great improvement in the color 
and brightness of the light produced. They are said to be in general use in the 
United States. We understand that these exhibitors constantly employ nearly 700 
operatives in the various branches of their business. 

We annex an extract from the " London Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue" 
relative to the superb specimens exhibited by these gentlemen : 

Two elegant examples of the art-manufactures of America may be found in a pair 
of gas chandeliers made and contributed by Messrs. Cornelius and Baker of 
Philadelphia. They stand about fifteen feet and a half high by six feet wide, 
having fifteen burners with plain glass globes, and are of brass lacquered. The 
design is very rich in ornament, and possesses some novelty in the succession of 
curves ingeniously and tastefully united ; the gas keys represent bunches of fruit, 
thus combining beauty with utility. Besides these objects, the manufacturers 
exhibit a number of patent solar lamps which they have named the " Damask 
Lamp," from the rich damask color they have succeeded in imparting to the brass ; 
the designs in these lamps can be varied at pleasure. Messrs. Cornelius and Baker 
are the most extensive manufacturers of lamps, chandeliers, gas fixtures, &c, in the 
United States, employing upwards of seven hundred persons in the several 
departments of their establishment, which has been in existence for upwards of a 
quarter of a century. If we may judge from their contributions to the Exhibition, 
their celebrity is not undeserved. 



BAKER'S SADDLERY AND HARNESS. 

The articles contributed by Mr. John B. Baker of Court Street, Boston, were 
among the best exhibited, and were equally distinguished for beauty and durability. 
No one can furnish better trappings — few indeed can equal them — for the noble 
steed. His trunks, valises, and carpet-bags ; his hat and bonnet cases ; his engine, 
hose, and fire buckets ; his military caps, knapsacks, cartridge boxes and belts ; nay, 
his almost endless variety of manufactured leather — -are unsurpassed here or 
elsewhere. One of the most liberal-minded tradesmen in the country, Mr. Baker, 
has spared neither time, labor, nor expense, in satisfying the cultivated taste that is 
extending to every mechanical calling throughout the republic. He deservedly 
obtained a prize in the struggle for distinction at the World's Fair, specifically "for 
superior workmanship." 



WOODBURY'S PLANING: MACHINE 

Of all the inventions which mark the present age, as that in which the chief ob- 
ject in tasking the intellect is utility, the Planing machine is scarcely second to 
any, particularly when we reflect on the almost universal employment of wood in our 
implements, arms, residences, vehicles, and " the thousand and one" other articles 
subservient to our well-being, our comfort, our necessities, our luxuries and our super- 
fluities. The Roxbury (Mass.) Gazette has an article in reference thereto, composed 
in such a philosophic spirit, that we give it entire, as a rich specimen of the eager- 



44 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FATR. 

ness with which a journalist will occasionally strive to diffuse mechanical knowledge 
in his circle of action. 

The vast forests of the North American Continent are sinking beneath the swell- 
ing tides of population, and with the hardy and adventurous pioneer, civilization 
advances with her cultivated hand, to rear structures for the abode and comfort of 
man. During the latter part of the last century, a few scattered and solitary wood- 
men, armed with the axe and the rifle, awoke the first civilized echoes in the vast 
solitudes of Ohio and Kentucky, and their rude cabins of logs marked the outposts of 
empire and discovery. But the rapid increase of population, aided by the advancing 
columns of emigration, soon hastened the work of subduing the forests by means of 
the " enterprise, ingenuity and art of man." The steam-engine, breathing from its 
huge iron nostrils fire and smoke, came to urge along the majestic Ohio vast hulks 
freighted with entire colonies, and it passed the shore, as if in anger, to cut into 
logs, and cleave into boards, the monarchs of the woods, through whose venerable 
branches the winds had whistled for centuries, unheard, except by the wild native, 
now first started by the forerunners of his doom. The log-hut of the early settler 
— itself subjected by the " enterprise, ingenuity, and art of man" — was destined, in 
a short time, to give place to more tasteful and commodious structures, and where, 
within the memory of living men, they once stood, darkened by the shade of cir- 
cumjacent trees, proud and stately cities have arisen, clothed with all the luxuries of 
modern refinement, and rich and powerful enough to throw down the gauntlet of 
rivalry to their sisters of the Atlantic border, or those even of the Old World. 

We have been led into this train of thought by a recent visit to to a " Planing 
Machine," one of those modest structures which, like the thumbed and dog-eared 
school book, or the electric battery, or the water in an engine boiler, though modest 
in itself, and housed in an obscure apartment, is heaving the out door world with 
revolution, and urging the march of civilization with a resistless and almost in- 
calculable force. 

When we reflect upon the ordinary and laborious process of smoothing a board by 
the hand of man, from the first rough essay of the fore-plane to the last finishing 
strokes of the smoothing-plane, we are struck with surprise and admiration as we 
contemplate the operations of a machine doing all this, and more than this, at once, 
on loth sides of the board, and at the same time grooving and tongueing its sides fur 
the nicest and exactest work, and doing it all, too, with a rapidity which taxes the 
industry and skill of half a dozen men to keep it employed, it seems as if some om- 
nipotent power had endowed the machinery with the faculties of reason and will, aud 
arming it with the strength of a thousand giants, had harnessed it down a slave to 
the wants and wishes of a human master. 

Excitements, like the " gold fever" of California, serve to test the power and 
utility of such machines, and tempt them to the maximum display of their wondrous 
capacities. 

Numerous cargoes of lumber from Maine have arrived at our wharves, and the 
progress of unloading the rough boards and reloading the planed boards, has scarcely 
been interrupted by the operation which has so essentially transformed them into a 
condition for immediate use. 

Machines for planing boards, are, as it is well known, an old invention. More 
than half a century ago, Mr. Bentham, an Englishman, offered to the world his 
first rude model, but the first imperfect planing-machines, like the early ploughs', 
steam-engines and pianos, only serve, in comparison with specimens of modern in- 
genuity and art, to mark the progress of invention and the amazing triumphs of 
human genius. The machine which we have had the satisfaction to see in oper- 
ation is the invention of Mr. Joseph P. Woodbury, of East Boston, who seems to 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 45 

have caught up all the products of former genius and combined them into harmony 
and perfection by the power of his own. 

To mark more particularly wherein it differs from other inventions now or lately in 
vogue, it may be proper to state that its cutters or " planing irons" are stationary, 
in contradistinction to the moveable or rotary. Machines with rotary cutters have 
long been in use in this country, and have served a most valuable purpose in cheap- 
ening the expense of preparing lumber for use. The value of this patent — known 
by the name of the Woodworth patent — has been tested by the great prices de- 
manded and received for its use, and it is supposed by its present proprietor, that its 
worth is greatly enhanced by a second extension of it, by an act of Congress, for 
seven years. The rights of the assignees of the Original Patent, and of its 
first extension, are soon to cease, and they are to be compelled to suspend 
the operation of their own machines unless they shall see fit to submit to 
new exactions on the part of the proprietor of the second extension of 
that patent. They would no doubt be willing, impelled by their own interests, 
to submit to the heaviest demands rather than forego the use of an instrument of 
such vast power, provided there shall exist no other mode of relief or escape. The 
means of relief and escape are fortunately supplied by the new and remarkable in- 
vention of Mr. Woodbury, secured to him by letters patent, dated at the City of 
Washington, on the 20th September, A. D. 1848. 

Various machines have been from time to time introduced, but retaining the 
rotary principle of Woodworth' s patent, they have been legally debarred from oper- 
ating. Mr. Woodbury's machine, operating on principles radically different, is 
brought into the field, not as the proximate or remote imitator of the Woodworth 
machine, but as the rival of all. The first testimony to its superior merits will be 
sought by the practical mechanic and machinist, in the perfection and adaptation of 
all its parts, in combination, to the great end sought to be accomplished, but the 
public will discover the most important testimony in its favor in those efforts — 
oftentimes more violent than discreet — put forth by rival patentees to discourage its 
use and to depreciate its surpassing merits. But beyond and superior to these tes- 
timonials, in the eye of practical reason and sense, is the evidence offered by the 
machine itself, in relation to the economy of its operation, its capacity — regarding 
both the amount and quality of its work — its consumption of power, its safety, &c. 
&c. The relative merits of the two machines may be briefly stated as follows, viz., 
— and here we may rely upon the testimony of the individuals in whose judgment 
and good faith we place the most implicit confidence, assisted by our own obser- 
vations, made while witnessing the two machines in operation, side by side, together, 
under the same roof, — Power More than one-third more power is required for the 
propulsion of the rotary, over the stationary cutters, in consequence, in part, of the 
great expenditure of force required in sustaining the rotary motion at the rapid rate 
of three thousand revolutions per minute. 

Consumption of Fuel. — The action of the Rotary is to " chip" the surface so 
finely as to render it of comparatively little value as fuel for generating steam, while 
the broad and continuous shaving thrown off by the stationary cutter, is found to be 
equal to three times the amount of fuel required in producing steam enough to pro- 
pel the machine. 

Effect on the Cutter. — By the action of the rotary machine, each of the several 
cutters strikes the gritty surface of the board at every revolution, thereby rapidly 
dulling the edge of the instrument ; whereas, the stationary cutter, by striking at 
once below the surface, and maintaining its position, escapes all contact excepting 
with the wood, thereby preserving the keenness of its edge much longer. [It is 
proper to remark that the time required in changing the cutters of an instrument, 
turning off from 3000 to 6000 feet of boards per hour, is a material consideration in 
judgiug of the relative merits of the rival machines.] 



46 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Safety. — The centrifugal force produced by three thousand revolutions per 
minute has a tendency to detach the cutters, which are fastened to the rotary 
cylinder, and accidents of the most serious and painful nature have often resulted 
from this source. 

Quality of Work. — From the nature and principles of rotation, the effect of 
rotary cutters is to produce a wavy or uneven surface to a greater or less extent, 
and in comparing the work of the two machines, it is evident that the stationary 
cutters produce work of vastly superior evenness and finish. 

Capacity. — Judging from the evidence we have before us, we are within the 
truth when we say that the Woodbury stationary-cutter machine will turn out three 
times the quantity of work of any rotary machine ever invented; and, considering 
that about the same amount of manual labour is required in superintending the 
several machines, this fact alone would be sufficient to establish the permanent 
and abiding superiority — as a source of profit — of Woodbury's machine over all 
others. 



ADIRONDAC STEEL AND IRON. 

The steel and iron exhibited by the Adirondac company were found, by the 
severest tests to which that species of metal can be submitted, to be of a quality superior 
to any that had ever been seen before. It deserved and obtained a prize medal, thus 
giving it a currency which no competition can revoke. A manufacturer thus speaks 
of this excellent material, in a letter addressed to the Boston Atlas : 

Having noticed in your journal of the 24th ultimo, an article relating to the 
American Adirondac cast steel, and feeling deeply interested in the success of all 
American manufactures and inventions, induces me to make a few remarks concerning 
the value of the above article of steel, and the importance it is, or will be, to artisans, 
or those who in any way use cast steel in their business. 

These remarks ai-e based upon actual experiments, the writer of this having used, 
and is now using, a large quantity of it in the machinery business. 

It is superior in every respect to the best English cast steel that has ever come 
under my notice; (I having been engaged in a business for the last fifteen years that 
required large quantities of the article,) it works at greater heat with less injury; is 
more susceptible of fine temper; is more tenacious in its particles, holding an edge 
longer by nearly one half on the same work (cutting iron); and is capable of 
performing work that the best English cast steel, that I have seen, is unable to do. 

It has advantages in having its quality adapted to its uses. For instance : steel 
for axes should not be used for turning tools, or steel for turning tools should not be 
used for cold chisels, &c. Each bar is marked for its appropriate purpose, which 
any one acquainted with the requisite quality for a particular purpose would 
understand. 

I am led to make these few remarks as an act of justice to the skilful and scientific 
inventor, it being an entire new discovery in the arts, and also to give some idea of 
its value to artisans and mechanists, that they may derive the advantages in its use. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 47 



LEROW AND BLODGETT'S SEWING MACHINE. 

The Sewing Machine has proved a real blessing to wholesale manufacturers of 
clothing, encouraging labor, and multiplying garments to an extent that is perfectly 
bewildering. We recollect the wondering physiognomies of the staring crowd around 
Lerow and Blodgett's machine in the Great Exhibition. Fits of laughter occasionally 
testified to the extraordinary agility of the power-driven needle, as it ran seams with 
almost the celerity of thought. The Scientific American gives the following account 
of its action on a large scale : 

Last week we visited the tailoring factory, No. 33 Gold street, in this city, (N. Y.) 
and were much surprised to find thirty of the above machines running on clothing, and 
twenty sewing up bags. These machines are attended by girls, and have been in 
active operation for a year. They are driven by steam power, and so rapid is their 
operation, that the thirty machines turn out 300 pairs of pantaloons in one day, 
and they could, if driven, have turned out 600 pairs. The superiority of the rotary 
machine over the reciprocating one, consists in the continued and uniform action 
and motion of the shuttle. There is no stopping its motion to make a return stroke, 
consequently no jarring, and less liability to get out of order, and for this reason its 
speed can be greatly increased. No less than 60,000 caps were made in this factory 
in six months. We saw fine coats, every stitch, except the button holes, put in by 
this machine, and the work could not be surpassed. The sewing is stronger than 
by hand, and wholesale goods made by this machine are better and command a 
higher price than the hand-made clothes. The stitching is beautiful, and is alike 
on both sides of the cloth. In this factory there is a machine for turning the bags 
from the inside out, as the inside is stitched outside. It is a simple' and good 
contrivance, consisting of a tube like a stove pipe, over which a girl draws a 
stitched bag, inside out, when a reciprocating leg comes down, strikes the bottom 
of the bag into the tube, thus folding the inside into the inside. The clothes are 
pressed by men, and here this heavy hand labor is relieved by a pressing machine, 
which consists of a simple lever operated by the foot of the presser acting upon a 
stirrup, which brings down the lever to act effectually upon the seams of the clothes. 
Mr. Lerow has been in Europe and secured patents in England, Scotland, France, 
and Belgium, and from what we have seen, it is our opinion that the time is not far 
distant when all sewing, excepting artistic ornamental work, will be done by machinery. 
At present there is another factory in Eleventh street, in this city, where there are 
50 of the above machines running, and there is a factory in Boston running 100 
machines ; such are the triumphs of inventive skill and labor. The profits of 
running these machines, we have learned, are enormous, and no wonder, when one 
girl by such a small machine will sew six overcoats in one day, and a very expert 
hand 20 pairs of pantaloons. 



PROUTY AND MEARS'S CENTRE DRAUGHT PLOW. 

Our triumphs in Agricultural industry, in relation to implements used by the 
Farmer, were signal and conclusive. One of these was achieved by Messrs. Prouty 
and Mears, of Boston. The trial of American, in conflict with European, and par- 
ticularly with English plows, is thus related in a letter addressed to those gentlemen, 
lated from the World's Fair : 



48 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Exhibition Palace, Hyde Park, July 21, 1851. 

On Saturday last, the 19th inst., after a vast deal of trouble in relation to the 
matter, we had the foreign plow trial. The English plows were tried in April last, 
before the Exhibition opened, and ours were not then tried. "We succeeded, how- 
ever, in obtaining a trial last Saturday, at Hounslow, about ten miles from London. 
There were American, French, Belgian, Bohemian, Canadian, Dutch, and four En- 
glish plows, to which the highest premium was awarded in April. We had four 
American, Prouty & Mears's, of Boston, Starbuck's of Troy, A. B. Allen & Co's., 
New York, and some from Philadelphia. 

Great anxiety was manifested to see the American plows tried, and when the first 
one was put into the ground, the exclamation I heard from many was, " Those plows 
(the American) will break ; they can't do the work." But when the plow went 
through with great ease to the team, and the plowman, an Englishman, who had 
never before held an American plow, said "It holds easy," the tide began to ebb, 
and soon to turn, before we got through with Prouty & Mears's plow, which was tried 
next. If we had an assortment of our plows here, I have no doubt many of them 
could be disposed of, the prices being from one-third to one half of the English, and 
doing their work as well. The farmers who have seen, much approve of them. 

A light two-horse plow was tried in the ground with one horse, and plowed with 
great ease. They were astonished at this, as it is well known that the prize English 
plows are so heavy, that they are a load for one horse to draw without being put into 
the ground at all. 

The jurors decided to award the prize medal to the Center Draught Plow, manu- 
factured by Prouty & Mears, of Boston. 

These plows, are for sale by Geo. H. Barr, at the State Agricultural Warehouse, 
No. 25 Cliff Street, New York, and by Prouty and Barrett, Market Street, Phila- 
delphia. 



TAYLOR'S TRANSPARENT SOAP. 

The stained window shown on each side of the Chromo-Lithographic picture, 
above the Greek Slave, and the bust of Hobbs, is intended to represent the Gothic 
Windows exhibited at the World's Fair, made of transparent soap, by H. P. & W. 
C. Taylor, of Philadelphia. This is one of the most beautiful manufactured articles 
sent to the Great Exhibition, where it attracted universal attention, people wonder- 
ing how it was possible to give to the comparatively humble and common abstersive 
substance, soap, so exquisitely crystal-like a purity. The first window ever con- 
structed of this material in the United States, and perhaps in the world, was made 
by them in 1850, as will be seen by the following extract from the report of the 
twentieth exhibition of American Manufactures, by the Franklin Institute of Penn- 
sylvania : 

No. 3018 — A beautiful display of Transparent Soaps, made and deposited by H. 
P. & W. C. Taylor; superior to any former Exhibition of those articles; among 
which is noticed as novel and beautiful, a Gothic Window to imitate Stained Glass, 
formed of Transparent Soaps of various colors. A First Premium. 



tit "'-^' --^ jf, 







- y^Pf,, 



r 









\%~ 



r>fr# • 






=cr 



t V f2 A T t John Street . I ^ -^UV^^H 



Skd 



fex 






*L> 



^2 



TV 






m -a. 






X 



m "•* 



v. 



$J ^/v 



<^.D C t 



%* 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 49 



NORTH WAYNE SCYTHE COMPANY. 

The articles manufactured by this Company, are of first rate quality. They 
command the highest estimation, wherever they are tried, and deservedly obtained 
a prize at the Great Exhibition. The Boston Post, in alluding to the Company, 
says: 

The great Scythe Factory at Dunnville, (Wayne,) Maine, established by R. R. 
Dunn, Esq., is the most extensive work of the kind in the world, being capable of 
manufacturing 80,000 dozens a year. The building and machinery are of the most 
substantial and best construction, and the arrangements throughout are such as to 
insure the success of the business upon the great scale laid out by the enterprising 
proprietors. 



ALBRO & HOYT'S OIL CLOTH. 

The floor oil cloth manufactured by Messrs. Albro & Hoyt is unsurpassed for 
beauty and durability. It carried off the prize before all competitors at the World's 
Fair. We are indebted to the Elizabethtown (N. J.) Journal for the following ac- 
count of their factory : 

One of the most important manufacturing establishments in our town, is the Oil 
Cloth Factory of Messrs. Albro & Hoyt. The factories (exclusive of the drying 
floors, &c.) cover an area of an acre and one-third, or a space equal to twenty-two 
lots 25 by 100 feet, and we are informed that no other Floor Oil Cloth establishment 
in the World can compare with this in extent and importance. The buildings are 
warmed by means of hot water and steam pipes, and every improvement in all their 
internal arrangements which modern science can suggest, has been applied. A 
steam engine grinds the paint. Railways are erected for the conveyance of cloths 
from one department to another, and every labor-saving device may here be found 
in practical operation. Accomplished artists are constantly employed in drawing 
original designs, which, if approved, arc transferred to the blocks for the printers. 
Some of these are of exquisite beauty, and of elaborate workmanship, far surpassing 
any thing hitherto attempted in this branch of manufactures ; and the artistic effect 
is immensely increased by a method of printing invented by Mr. Albro, for which 
he has secured letters patent. Indeed, a person who has only seen the cloths of 
other manufacturers, can form no conception of the difference made in their appear- 
ance by this invention. The blending of colors, the delicate and perfect shading, 
and the perfection of the printing, produce an effect superior to the best tapestry 
carpeting, while the recent patterns, all of which are original, are acknowledged by 
all who have seen them, to be immeasurably superior in beauty and taste to any 
thing before produced either in Europe or America. Our readers will remember 
that a prize medal was awarded at the World's Fair, for specimens of Floor Oil 
Cloth from this factory, and we learn that no other samples at all approaching them, 
either in quality or appearance, were exhibited by the English or any other manu- 
facturers. The prize pieces were selected from the stock on hand in the factory, 
(not made for the purpose of exhibition,) and, in our judgement, are surpassed by 
some of their more recent patterns. The cloths, which are all of the heaviest de- 
scription, are made in pieces of 24 by 90 feet. Some idea of the quantity of mate- 
rial used may be obtained, when we state that three hundred tons of one kind of 
paint is used in a single year. 

7 



50 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 



PALMER'S ARTIFICIAL LEG. 

Of al] the means, instruments, or agencies, that have ever heen devised for obviating, 
as far as art can possibly obviate, the inconveniences arising from the loss of a leg, 
the artificial limb invented by B. F. Palmer, Esqr., of Philadelphia, and which de- 
servedly carried off the prize at the World's Fair, is essentially the best. With this 
help to locomotion, the mutilated unfortunate in this sad category, ceases to be a 
cripple, and can emphatically " arise, take up his bed and walk," with as little per- 
ceptible halt in his gait, as if complete and " every inch" a man. Mr. Palmer de- 
serves the thanks of the whole world, for his invaluable gift to suffering humanity. 
The following is the published synopsis of the invention : 

Synopsis op the Invention. — The best recommendation of an artificial limb 
is its elastic and self-acting quality, lightness, the perfection of the joints, and such 
means of adjustment to the stump as to allow of free motion, without fatigue or 
pain to the wearer. The purchaser, if satisfied in these respects, will consider the 
polished exterior and shape, however perfect, of comparatively little importance. But 
this invention will be found on examination and trial to possess, in a degree not 
hitherto attained, all these desirable qualities. 

It is composed of the lightest materials compatible with strength and durability. 
The joints, by a novel contrivance of elastic cords, performing the office of muscles 
and tendons, allow of an easy, graceful motion, that by a little practice is soon made 
to correspond with the other limb, and so natural a gait is in a short time acquired, 
that the loss of the real leg would hardly be suspected. 

This substitute differs radically from all other artificial limbs both in its mechan- 
ism and external appearance. The articulations of knee, ankle, and toes, are uni- 
ted upon a new principle, and in such an improved manner as to present the most 
natural and symmetrical shapes and proportions, avoiding all vacuums and excres- 
cences. A successful imitation of the ball and socket is introduced, and the ordina- 
ry tendon and mortice and metallic joints are never used. 

The parts at knee and ankle are united by means of metallic bars placed verti- 
cally, and immoveably fixed to the side of the leg. Through the ends of these bars 
pass smoothly polished bolts upon which the joints move. All the joints are so 
constructed as to avoid the possibility of any motion where the metallic parts unite. 
By this arrangement, and by avoiding the rubbing of all large surfaces, friction is 
reduced to the lowest point possible, thus presenting articulations which do not re- 
quire the application of oil or other attention. The bolts, instead of turning upon 
mere tenons or metallic plates, take bearings in solid wood (properly bushed) across 
the entire diameter of the knee and foot, presenting a novel arrangement, at once 
strong and durable. 

The Tendo achillis (or heel cord) acts in the strictest accordance with nature. — 
Being attached to the heel, and (by the application of a crank, eccentric, and lesser 
tendon) caused to act upon a dead point in the leg when the step is taken, it performs 
its proper functions without tending to bend the knee or render the step insecure. 

Another tendon, slightly elastic, and of great strength, receives the shock of sud- 
den extension, and arrests the forward motion of the leg in walking, thus avoiding 
all unpleasant sound and jarring sensation consequent upon a collision of the solid 
parts at the knee. 

A lever and spring so inserted in the knee as to act in harmony with these ten- 
dons, render the joint self-acting when the leg is flexed as in icalking, but are soar- 
ranged as to act upon a dead point when the limb is in the sitting position, and lose 
the power of extension. An improved spring in the foot performs the two-fold of- 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 51 

fice of regulating the ankle-joint and the toes, and its action is certain, adequate and 
lasting. 

The exterior is covered with a strong material, indissolubly fastened, which pre- 
vents the possibility of splitting. This covering is fitted without perceptible seam, 
and the whole is then coated with a cement impervious to water, which gives an 
enameled surface and color so natural, that the most delicately wrought hose and 
slipper are sufficient to conceal the work of art. 

It is adapted to every form of amputation, and successfully applied to the short- 
est and tenderest stumps. If amputation be below the knee, and the joint anchy- 
losed, or too short to retain the use of the joint, perfect action is given by an artifi- 
cial joint without elongating the thigh perceptibly. The peculiar characteristics 
of this limb, are life-like elasticity and flexibility, excessive lightness, durability, 
adaptability, and perfection of exterior appearance. 



JUDGE WILLIAM A. BUST'S SOLAR COMPASS. 

This beautiful compass has been the theme of the Surveyor's praise for many 
years in this country ; but it was comparatively unknown, until the friendly rivalry 
brought about by the Great Exhibition of last year, gave it a world-wide celebrity. 
To give our readers as accurate an idea of the capabilities of the instrument, as 
possible, we annex the following report thereon by the Committee on Science and 
the Arts, constituted by the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the 
promotion of the Mechanic arts, to whom it was referred. They state that in re- 
ference to the Solar Compass, invented by William A. Burt, of Mount Vernon, 
Michigan :" — 

They have examined the instrument of Mr. Burt, which is a modification of that 
for which he received the Scott's Medal in 1835. The improvements introduced 
by its inventor tend to render the instrument more simple in its use, and more per- 
manent in its adjustments. The method is susceptible of any degree of accuracy 
desired. In the model submitted to the Committee, which was the workmanship 
of Mr. Wm. J. Young, the principle of reversion is applied throughout, and serves 
to remove all danger of index error in any of its adjustments. In a clear day, in a 
latitude not yet determined, this instrument, without the use of the telescope, is ad- 
equate to the determination of latitude within two minutes, and differences of lati- 
tude perhaps to one minute. The line of sight being brought in the direction of an 
object, and the instrument adjusted for the sun's actual declination, and the latitude 
of the place, (determined by a previous culmination of the sun with this instrument,) 
the exact azimuth from the true north or south is read, and the reading of the com- 
pass is of no further use than to serve as a check to the comparative azimuths de- 
termined astronomically, and also to furnish a permanent record of the variation of 
the compass for the particular station. The instrument is simple in its construction 
and use — requires, when properly understood, no inconvenient expenditure of time 
— and in districts abounding in magnetic iron ore, is almost indispensable. It seems 
to be a very important improvement over the ordinary surveyor's compass, and de- 
serving of great commendation. Above all, the Committee cannot omit to mention 
the exceeding value of surveys made with this instrument, in fixing the variation of 
the compass, and thus furnishing, besides the particular result, viz. : the boundary 
and contents of the field or plot, the permanent records also of the magnetic varia- 
tion. When such results are increased, and the instrument is more generally used, 
which its intrinsic merit fully warrants, a most important addition will be made to 



52 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

the stock of our knowledge on this highly useful element, viz. : the magnetic decli- 
nation and its periodical changes in a great variety of localities. 
By order of the Committee. 

William Hamilton, Actuary. 

The London Art Journal in reference to this valuable instrument, has the fol- 
lowing : — 

Judge Burt's solar or astronomical compass is an instrument for the use of sur- 
veyors, intended to supersede the use of the magnetic compass in regions where that 
instrument is rendered almost wholly useless, on account of the existence of local 
attractions. A plane of reference, so it be fixed, is all that is necessary to the sur- 
veyor, and it matters not what that plane may be, whether that of the magnetic 
meridian or any other. Judge Burt relies upon the sun for the determination of 
this plane, and by a combination of parts, forming a small, portable and convenient 
instrument, he enables the surveyor not only to run lines and measure angles with 
certainty and accuracy, but to determine latitude and declination, apparent time, 
and the variation of the needle. The instrument has been in successful use for seve- 
ral years, on the United States Government surveys in the mineral regions of Lake 
Superior, and has, in a great measure, superseded the magnetic compass on the 
Government works generally. 



SERVICE OF PLATE. 

Conspicuous among the objects represented in our beautiful Chromo-Lithographic 
picture, is the service of plate presented to E. K. Collins, Esq., of New York, by a 
number of Merchants, as a testimonial of their appreciation of his energy, talent and 
enterprize, in having successfully established the line of Steamships between this 
country and England, surpassing all competitors in speed, elegance and comfort. 
Messrs. Ball, Tompkins & Black are the manufacturers, and they spared no pains 
in producing a work of art, that challenges the world in taste and workmanship. It 
is a noble specimen of American manufacture. The cost is $8000 ; it is made of 
pure California gold, without alloy; it is 23§ carats fine, and finished with the same 
care as fine jewelry; the salver is of solid silver. It has been examined by thou- 
sands, and as a work of taste and artistic display, is universally considered the best 
ever produced in this country. 

On the waiter is the following inscription : 

" This Service of Plate is presented by citizens of New York to Edward K. Col- 
lins, in testimony of the public sense of the great honor and advantage which have 
been conferred upon the city and the whole country through his energy and perse- 
verance in the successful establishment of an American Line of Trans- Atlantic 
Steamers, August, 1851." 

The tea set has also its appropriate inscription engraved upon it. 




WW^$iMm 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 53 

CHILSON'S PATENT AIR-WARMING AND 
VENTILATING FURNACE. 

The best adapted arrangement in the world, for thoroughly warming and ventilating 
State, Court, and School houses, hospitals, churches, dwellings, stores, &c, has been 
accomplished by this invention. After experiments running over many years, Mr. 
Chilson has succeeded in perfecting his furnace, in all its parts, so that it can with 
ease thoroughly ventilate all classes of buildings with pure, warm air. It appears 
that, from unquestionable data laid before us, the inventor has established the 
superiority of his furnace over all others, having tried more than seventeen hundred 
of them in different public and private buildings in all parts of the Union, and all 
with the same successful result. It is adapted for burning any kind of fuel, 
anthracite, bituminous coal, or wood. It is constructed of every imaginable 
size, so as to be adapted for the exigencies of large or small buildings. Mr. Chilson 
has been rewarded for his patient ingenuity, by receiving premiums from a variety 
of institutions, fairs, and other public bodies in this country, and to cap the climax, 
to his furnace was awarded the prize medal at the World's Fair. The scientific 
world are unanimous in their recommendation of Chilson's Furnace. The following 
are the qualities peculiar to this excellent invention : 

1st. The admission and rarefaction of an abundant supply of fresh, healthful, warm 
air, perfectly free from that injurious atmosphere produced by red-hot iron heat. 
2d. All the heat generated from the fuel is employed in warming the rooms, by 
which waste is prevented, and economy secured. 3d. They are of extraordinary 
durability. With the exception of the lining which it may be necessary to replace 
once in four or six years, they will last a life time. 4th. Security from fire. From 
their peculiar construction, they cannot by any possibility set fire to the circumjacent 
building. 5th. They are adapted for all kinds of fuel. 6th. They are perfectly 
under control, as will forthwith appear on inspection. 7th. They are easy of access 
in all parts, so that they are cleared with facility, and do not get out of order. 
8th. The furnace joints are so constructed that there can be no annoyance through 
the escape of smoke or gas. 9th. When bituminous coal is used, they are readily 
cleaned out, by igniting therein paper or a few shavings. 10th. As the burning 
fuel does not come in contact with the furnace-pot, or other portions of the furnace, 
above the fire, it not only avoids the evil of over-heated iron, but also the burning 
out of its pots or plates, and there is no escape of poisonous coal gas into the air 
chamber. 11th. Fire may be kept in these furnaces from fall until spring, by 
simply replenishing with fuel once in twenty-four hours. 



MACHINE FOR BACKING BOOKS. 

This machine is the invention of Mr. Charles Starr, of New York city. It is 
designed to supersede the use of the hammer in the backing, or the formation of 
the grooves, of books, and is in successful operation in the bindery of the American 
Bible Society, and answers well the object of the inventor. 

The pressure upon the back is given by weights and levers, under the control of 
the foot, forcing down the roller on the whole length of the back, lightly at first, 



54 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

and in the centre ; and, as it rolls towards the edges, the folds are forced down 
before it so as to form the grooves, the pressure increasing gradually from the centre 
to the edges. 

The book is held fast between two jaws or clamps, brought together by intermediate 
pinions turned by a crank. These jaws are suspended by journals passing from 
them through the frame on either side. They are swung back and forth, which 
occasions the passing of the roller over the back. 

Books with raised bands are backed with the same facility as those with sunk 
bands, grooves being turned in the roller to correspond with the bands on the book. 

In putting the book between the jaws, it is forced up against a pair of gauges 
formed to the shape which the book ought to have, and thus a uniformity in the 
rounding is secured. 

The utility of this machine consists mainly in the neatness and uniformity of its 
execution, preventing to a great extent the wrinkles that generally result from the 
use of the hammer, and securing a good degree of uniformity in the rounding of a 
given number of books. But its utility is not confined to this. It effects a saving 
in the cost of backing, by a man of some experience, of from seventy-five to one 
hundred per cent. 



MACHINE FOR FINISHING. 

This machine is by the same inventor as the foregoing, and its movements are 
very similar. It is designed mainly for embossing the backs of books after they 
are covered ; but it is also used to great advantage both in lettering and gilding, 
executing both with neatness, uniformity, and despatch. 

The two sides of the box or case that holds the book are forced together by means 
of conical rollers moving in a circle over cams or inclined planes, instead of screws. 

A book tool for embossing, two inches in diameter, and of the length of the book, 
is engraved upon the surface to suit the size of the book. The book being placed 
in the box, and held fast, is turned with the tool pressed upon it, producing the 
desired impression. 

The movements of the machine are so facile that two thousand duodecimo Bibles 
are embossed in a day. The despatch varies with the size and thickness of the 
books. The lettering can be done in less time than by hand, and with an accuracy 
that few hands can successfully imitate. One thousand Bibles have been lettered 
in one of these machines in three hours, the whole cost of glaring, laying on, 
lettering and rubbing off, being but 87 $ cents for the one thousand. Match tools 
are set up in circular form, and backs, full gilt, are worked off with a despatch 
approximating to that of gilding the sides, as this work is now done by an Embossing 
Press. 

By the use of this machine in embossing the backs, the binder is enabled to 
forward his books in the usual manner, putting on his leather wet, with tight backs j 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 55 

thus securing a substantial style of binding instead of the open backs, fit only for 
book designed merely for temporary use, and then to be thrown aside. 

The following is an extract from the report of the Judges on Bo.ok Binding made 
to the Managers of the 23d Annual Fair, October 1850 : — 

" No. 321. Machine for Stamping Backs of Books. 
Charles Starr, 115 Nassau Street, New York. 
" An original and very ingenious invention, and doubtless will become a universal 
and very profitable machine in large binderies. A gold medal awarded. 
A true copy, 

JOHN W. CHAMBERS, Secretary Premium Committee. 
American Institute, New York, Dec. 6, 1850." 

Note.— These machines have revolutionized the style of binding by the American 
Bible Society, greatly improving the appearance of the books, without increasing 
the cost. 

Mr. F. J. Austin, No. 23 Centre Street, New York, is the sole agent for the 
manufacture and sale of these machines. 



PROFESSOR ALEXANDER D. BACHE'S BALANCE. 

This instrument is the model of the larger balances, distributed to the several 
States of the Union under act of Congress, and intended for the adjustment of 
standard weights and capacity measures. At a very early period of the history of 
the republic, the subject of uniformity in the standards of weights and measures 
throughout the States, engaged the attention of Congress and the Executive, and 
after various treatises had been written, and reports delivered by scientific men on 
the subject, full sets of standards of weights and measures were ordered to be 
delivered to the various State authorities, to be by them used for securing a uniform 
system in every city, town, or village in the land. They consisted of the following : 

1. A set of weights from 1Tb avoirdupois to 50 lbs., and a troy pound. 

2. A set of weights from 1 oz. troy, to 1 ten-thousandth of an ounce. 

3. A yard measure. 

4. A set of liquid measures, consisting of the gallon and its parts, down to the 
half pint inclusive. 

5. One half -bushel measure. 

The balance invented by Professor Bache, for adjusting these weights and measures, 
is an exceedingly beautiful instrument, constructed on such principles as to secure 
the minutest accuracy in its operations. It was the subject of careful examination 
at the Great Exhibition, and very deservedly obtained a prize. 

In a report laid before Congress, relative to these balances, we find the following 
directions : 

In order to use these balances satisfactorily, they must be placed upon a firm 
foundation. To adjust standard weights and capacity measures, or to make copies 
of a kind which would bo of service for county standards, a room is required which 
does not change its temperature rapidly, and without draughts of air. To copy the 
standards of length, the same condition as to temperature must be fulfilled, and besides, 
the light must be suitably admitted. These conditions require a room or building 



56 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE "WORLD'S FAIR. 

of a certain character for using these instruments. The dimensions are determined 
by the number and character of the standards and of the balances. The safety of 
the instruments requires that they should, if possible, be in a fire proof building. 
The balance, and the standards of weights and measures, form quite a valuable 
collection of instruments ; they have been prepared at considerable cost, and are 
worthy of careful preservation. 

It is much to be desired that the adjustment of the standards for the counties in 
the different States, shall be in the hands of scientific persons, used to physical 
experiments of the more refined sort. This is the case in some of the States, 
affording the best security that no considerable error will occur in adjusting the 
county standards, which should, by no means, be roughly done. 



WATSON'S SPORTING WAGON. 

This vehicle attracted much attention from coach builders, and amateurs, from its 
lightness and the extreme elegance of its general construction. Nothing like it had 
ever been seen before in the metropolis of the United Kingdom, or in continental 
Europe. But one opinion was expressed in relation to it, and that was unqualified 
admiration. The London Art Journal makes the following brief remarks on the 
phaeton : 

Another description of American carriages is copied from a single horse phaeton, 
manufactured by Mr. Watson, of Philadelphia. One peculiarity we notice in it, is 
the unusual size of the fore-wheels compared with the hinder, so contrary to the 
practice of our carriage-builders, but there is no doubt this causes it to run easily. 
The body of the vehicle seems very light in its construction. 



HOWLAND'S BELL TELEGRAPH. 

jLhis is an ingeniously contrived apparatus for economizing labor, and at the same 
time ensuring celerity and precision, in performing the various offices of domestic 
service. In hotels, and other extensive establishments, where the number of helps, 
male and female, is large, we have all had occasion to notice the confusion and 
irregularity that usually prevail, from the clumsy arrangement of the bells for 
summoning attendance. Mr. Howland's Telegraph obviates every difficulty herein. 
By means of a tablet inscribed with the name of the servant — as " chamber-maid," 
"waiter" — or number of the room — "13," "25," "78" — or apartment — "coffee 
room," " parlor," &c. — which is connected with the wire of the house bell, and 
which appears at one of the apertures of the machine, simultaneously with the sound 
of the bell, the particular service required can be furnished with certainty and 
without delay. The Telegraph thus supersedes the number of bells for the rooms 
of a large establishment, and proves a real blessing to hotel keepers, passenger 
steamboats, and the heads of extensive factories. It has been adopted with great 
satisfaction here and in England, and bids fair to become universal. A prize was 
awarded to the ingenious inventor, with many flattering encomiums, by the jury at 
the Great Exhibition. 



^5% 




LitKof Brott&dr-.Goldsmilliritl! '..Lr.iry&.PWa 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 57 



BROOKLYN FLINT GLASS COMPANY. 

Among the manufactured articles sent by our fellow citizens to the Great 
Exhibition, we found none to exceed in beauty the contributions by the Brooklyn 
Flint Glass Company. After running through the catalogue of agricultural riches 
and daring invention in the American department of the Crystal Palace, where rude 
luxuriance, hardy vigor, and stern utility were the predominant characteristics, it 
was quite exhilarating to meet with such delicately fragile and fairy-like creations, 
as the transparent and rainbow-tinted glass ware, spread out for inspection by this 
enterprising association. Nothing, indeed, could exceed the exquisite brilliancy of 
the material, and the purity of color in each article. Even when contrasted with 
the finest specimens of English or French art, the American article shone 
conspicuous. "What particularly distinguishes the Brooklyn Flint Glass, is its sur- 
passing whiteness, which, with its dazzlling brilliancy, has given it with amateurs 
and in circles where elaborately cut articles are sought as proofs of taste and mu- 
nificence, a fame that has conferred on the company quite a monopoly on this 
continent — the fair reward of their talent and enterprize. A prize medal was 
unhesitatingly awarded them. We learn that much as the Brooklyn Flint Glass 
Company was distinguished at the World's Fair by the beauty of their ware, the 
spectacle there displayed has stimulated the firm to still further exertions, and the 
table and fancy articles now manufactured by them have a much higher claim to 
admiration. The renowned Bohemian colors in every variety of tint, such as gold, 
ruby, alabaster, turquoise, chrysopaz, and canary, are produced in a state of purity, 
that cannot be surpassed in the old or the new world. The great art, in variegated 
glass ware, as we learn from connoisseurs, is to insure a perfect uniformity of 
tint, and this excellence, according to the testimony of practical men, and others 
well qualified to express an opinion, either from scientific investigation, chemical 
skill, or long familiarity with sumptuous articles of this material, has been fully 
attained by the Brooklyn Company. 



AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE, GRAIN, COTTON, SUGAR, 
TOBACCO, RICE, & c. 

The real, the inexhaustible wealth of the republic, consists in the fruits of her 
soil, in the produce of her tillage. It has been well remarked that as mankind 
become more enlightened to know their real interests, they will esteem the value 
of agriculture ; they will find it their natural, their destined occupation. As it 
is the most munificent, so it is the most health-giving and the most innocent 
of all human pursuits. And whereas, in other callings, such as the cultivation 
of art, the prosecution of traffic, in trade and commerce, and the infinite variety 
of other kinds of industry, men throng and jostle, coming every day in hostile, 
and quasi hostile, contact with one another, to the utter destruction of kindly 
feeling, nay, even to the generating of hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness, 



58 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

agriculture leaves them alone with their Creator, and his handmaid, nature, whose 
blessings are had for the mere simply asking for them. Our citizens, above all 
other people, know, and feel, and venerate these truths. By the sedulousness with 
which they have sought to develope the riches concealed within the bosom of the 
earth, they have risen to their present height of enviable prosperity. As was to be 
expected, the contributions from the United States, as specimens of her agricultural 
produce, were very numerous, and unquestionably took the palm from all competitors. 
Of course, in cotton, rice, and tobacco, our Southern staples, we were preeminent, 
and the same triumphant response as that in reference to the America in the 
regatta at Cowes, might be made when a similar question is put as to excellence 
in these points. "Which is first?" " The United States." "Which second?" 
" There is no second !" The rivalry was simply between our contending citizens. 
As an appropriate frame-work for our noble Yacht, in the picture, we have grouped 
specimens of Corn, Wheat, Rice, the Sugar Cane, and the Tobacco Plant, in their 
finest state of natural luxuriance. Prizes in this department were awarded as 
follows : 

State of Maryland, for a collection of produce : Cotton — Messrs. J. R. Jones, J. 
V. Jones, W. W. Macleod, W. Seabrook (sea-island), W. Hampton (upland), of 
Charleston, South Carolina ; G. L. Holmes, S. Bond, and J. Pope, of Memphis, 
Tennessee ; and J. B. Merriweather, of Montgomery, Alabama. Cavendish Tobacco 
— J. H. Grant, Dile and Mulcahey, and P. Robinson, of Richmond, Virginia. 
Maple Sugar — W. Barnes, Rutland, Vt., and L. Dean, Manchester, Vt. T. Bell, 
of Morrisania, N. Y., for soft wheat from Genesee ; the New York State Agricultural 
Society at Albany, for a collection of wheats; B. B. Kirtland, of Greeuburgh, N. Y., 
for thirty-four varieties of maize ; Hecker and Brother, of Croton Mills, New York 
city, for Genesee flour; Raymond and Schuyler, of Westfarm, N. Y., for flour 
(thirds) ; and E. T. Heriot, of Charleston, S. C, for Carolina Rice. 



THE AMOSKEAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY. 

We have already taken occasion to remark that the whole republic is exceedingly 
sensitive in all that refers to its manufacturing industry. With a country teeming 
with wealth, animal, vegetable, and mineral, it only requires on the part of our 
capitalists a certain amount of spirit and enterprise to domicile among us every 
species of manufacture. With raw material in abundance we should be able, if not 
to supply the markets of the world, at least to furnish ample for home consumption, 
and thus to save the masses from a taxation to support the foreign operator and to 
enrich the foreign speculator. And as for labor, the multitudes of strong and 
intelligent immigrants that continually pour in on us, would fill up the gaps caused 
in other departments of industry by the drain from those sources to supply the new 
demand. As an illustration of the benefits which a public-spirited body of men with 
pecuniary means, can confer on a particular community, and reflectively on the 
country at large, we cite the extraordinary results achieved by the Amoskeag 
Manufacturing Company in New Hampshire. It is just about fourteen years ago 
(1838) since where now stands the town of Manchester, the primeval forest reigned 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 59 

in all the majesty of silence — where echo was only awakened by the voice of 
untamed bird or beast. In that year, a few noble spirits reared a factory on the 
spot, and blessed by Providence, the seed thus shed by the hand of industry, proved 
the nucleus of a populous city, having at the present moment all the elements of 
wealth, intelligence, and high civilization. Those noble spirits to whom we allude 
are the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, a body of men whose worth, in a 
national point of view, can scarcely be overrated. The articles manufactured 
here are tickings, sheetings, drillings, cotton flannels, denims, striped shirtings and 
drillings, corset jeans, and mariner's stripes, of which are made from No. 15 yarn, 
twenty millions of yards annually. The capital employed is 13,000,000. There 
are 52,000 spindles, 1645 looms, and 250O operatives employed. Here is emphatically 
a great company ! A prize medal was awarded to them at the World's Fair, 
specifically for " sheetings, drillings, tickings, and cotton flannels." 



JULES HAUEL'S PERFUMERY, SOAPS, &o. 

For elegant articles for the toilette, including all that are ordinarily put in 
requisition by both ladies and gentlemen, Jules Hauel's establishment at 170 
Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, is unsurpassed by any either on this continent or in 
Europe. That gentleman's contributions to the World's Fair were selected with 
exquisite taste ; and many a fair hand and fastidious eye, in the highest circle of the 
beau monde, lingered long over the delicious perfumery and other ministrants to 
beauty, which those contributions embraced. A prize medal, establishing the 
superiority of his toilette soaps over all competitors, was unhesitatingly awarded him 
by the jury at the Great Exhibition. But, matchless as are his toilette soaps, they 
constitute but a very limited portion of his claims to fame as a consummate master 
in the art of perfumery. His Eau Lustrale, Hair restorative, Nymph Soap, Shaving 
Cream, and Vegetable Liquid Hair Dye, have all the attributes of singular excellence, 
and have secured for him a reputation second to none of his contemporaries 
throughout this wide republic. 



SELF-ACTING LATHE AND POWER LOOM. 

The Lowell (Mass.) machine shop, to which a prize medal was awarded at the 
World's Fair, for an ingeniously constructed Self-Acting Lathe and Power Loom, 
is one of the best establishments on this continent, in its peculiar branch of industry. 
The specimens of handy-work forwarded to the Great Exhibition, by the proprietors, 
gave to the assembled world, on that occasion, a very favorable idea of Yankee taste 
and ingenuity. We have given an elegant drawing of the self-acting lathe in our 
chromo-lithographic picture, by which the initiated will easily trace out its modus 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



FREEDOM AND THE SUN NEVER GO DOWN UPON THE EARTH. THEY ARE ALWAYS RISING. IP YOU nEAR 
THAT FREEDOM OR THE SUN HAS EXPIRED AND DISAPPEARED IN THE OCEAN, THEN LOOK TO AMERICA, 
WHERE GLITTERING IN THE MORNING SPLENDOR APPEARS THE SUN, AND ALONG WITH IT FREEDOM. — 



After proceeding thus far, and furnishing to the extent that a cursory description 
embraces, the catalogue of articles of American art, science and industry, to which 
prizes were awarded at the World's Fair, we thought that a moderate use of the 
abundant records of that great event, which with some diligence we had collected, 
might still further be indulged in, for the amusement of our readers, and as an ad- 
ditional memento of those meritorious citizens, who so nobly upheld the credit, and 
extended the glory of the Republic in the memorable contest in London in 1851. 
Under the head of Miscellaneous then, we continue to draw on our resources, in 
which we shall invoke the testimony of the conductors of the periodical press, on 
both sides of the Atlantic, in reference to the effects produced by the contributions 
from the United States to the Great Exhibition. We insert extracts from news- 
paper articles which were necessarily written on the spur of the moment, when the 
writers were full of the particular subjects under notice, when they were moved by 
the influence of the peculiar time, when they were working under the spell of a 
recent visit to the Crystal Palace, or were otherwise operated on, so as to set their 
brains a seething on the given topic. As a matter of course then, the miscellaneous 
portion of our book will be abundantly piquant. It will also be remarkable for 
freshness and vivid portraiture ; and, after making due allowances for the occasion- 
ally excusable exaggerations of national pride, the whole will be found as fair and 
candid an exposition of facts, — such as they really presented themselves, at the periods 
of their occurrence, — as can well be given. Interspersed will be found some racy 
anecdotes, and choice pieces of poetry, chiefly of a humorous character, " all however 
germane to the matter," which cannot fail to interest every description of reader. 



AMERICA AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

The following testimony of American superiority at the World's Fair, was wrung 
from the lips of a reluctant adversary. It is an article from the Thunderer of the 
(60) 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 61 

Press in Europe, the mighty exponent of social, moral, religious and political pro- 
gress in the Old World, the chief of newspaper literature, the London Times, which 
Mr. Webster has characterized as " the bitterest, the ablest, and the most Anti- 
American press in all Europe. That Journal in its number of September 2, 1851, 
some short time before the close of the Exhibition, thus does tardy justice to its 
" transatlantic cousins :" 

Taking all things together, British and Americans have run a pretty fair tie 
through the trials of this wonderful season. The Spring, it must be confessed, 
opened ill for Brother Jonathan, and for a good while in the race we kept well 
ahead. We had our great Exhibition — a real new " smart" speculation, which did 
not turn out a failure, which exceeded every body's hopes, and which brought about 
no revolution at all. As it turned out, even the extra policemen might have been 
dispensed with, and 50,000 visitors of all classes have congregated and dispersed 
daily without as much disturbance as attends a common country fair. Moreover the 
dollars have really come tumbling in amain, We say it without any malice, or any 
wish to create annoyance, but the fact is, that even the hyperbolical conjectures of 
American irony have fallen short of the truth in this interesting particular. It was 
calculated that we should realize $2,000,000, whereas we have got over 82,100,000 
at this very moment, with six good weeks before us still. And all this is in hand, 
too, and in solid coin, so that we fairly walk away from our rivals. — The true triumph 
of American genius would be to transfer these winnings by some brilliant counter- 
stroke to the soil of Columbia. Mr. Barnum, we observe, is actually among us, and 
his presence, like that of Napoleon in the field, is always ominous of business. Still, 
although the Royal Commissioners seem sorely embarrassed with their specie, and 
although their friendly advisers among the public are almost as much at fault, we 
have not yet heard of any disposition herein toward Mississippi bonds. 

On the other hand, it is beyond all denial that every practical success of the sea- 
son belongs to the Americans. Their consignments showed poorly at first, but came 
out well upon trial. Their reaping machine has carried conviction to the heart of 
the British agriculturist. Their revolvers even threaten to revolutionize military 
tactics as completely as the original discovery of gunpowder. Their yacht takes a 
class to itself. / Of all the victories ever won none has been so transcendent as that 
of the New York schooner. The account given of her performance suggests the 
inapproachable excellence attributed to Jupiter by the ancient poets, who describe 
the King of the Gods as being not only supreme, but having none other next to 
him. " What's first ?" — " The America." " What's second ? — " Nothing." Be- 
sides this, the Baltic, one of Collins' s line of steamers, has "made the fastest pas- 
sage yet known across the Atlantic," and according to the American journals, has 
been purchased by British agents u for the purpose of toicing the Cunard vessels 
from one shore of the ocean to the other." Finally, as if to crown the triumphs of 
the year, Americans have actually sailed through the isthmus connecting the two 
continents of the New World, and, while Englishmen have been doubting and 
grudging, Yankees have stepped in and won the day. 

So we think on the whole, that we may afford to shake hands and exchange con- 
gratulations, after which we must learn as much from each other as we can. As for 
yachts, we have no doubt that by next August every vessel of the Cowes squadron 
will be trimmed to the very image of the America; there is no doubt that our far- 
mers will reap by machinery, and the revolver, we fear, is too attractive an embodi- 
ment of personal power to be overlooked by European mischief-makers. 

The Daily News mentions a decided change in the habits of visitors at the Exhi« 
bition. It says : 



62 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

" A great change has taken place in the comparative attractiveness of the various 
departments. Formerly the crowds used to cluster most in the French and Austrian 
section, while the region of the stars and stripes was almost deserted — now the do- 
main of Brother Jonathan is daily filled with crowds of visitors. In the front, trim 
mercantile men crowd around Hobbs's lock ; right opposite the click of Mr. Colt's 
revolvers is unceasing, as the exhibitor demonstrates the facility with which they 
can be made to perform their murderous task; and in the rear jolly broad- 
shouldered farmers gather about McCormick's reaping machine, and listen in mild 
stupidity to the details of its wondrous prowess at Tiptree Hall and at Leicester, 
over rough and smooth land, over ridge and furrow. 



COLT'S REPEATING FIRE-ARMS. 

This tremendous weapon was more carefully examined, perhaps, than any other 
in the Great Exhibition, and seemed to divide the suffrages of the multitude with 
another invention of a far different character, from a fellow citizen of Col. Colt's, 
viz. : — McCormick's Reaper. What a singular juxtaposition ! Life and Death — 
Peace and War — Cruelty and Humanity — the life-sustaining, and the life-destroy- 
ing — one, the theatre of whose calm and healthful agency, is the peaceful cornfield, 
ripe with the yellow gifts of Ceres in all their rich luxuriance — the other fully re- 
vealing its attribute only in scenes of strife, rioting in the headlong rush of embat- 
tled hosts, crimsoning the earth with the very hearts' blood, and tearing violently 
asunder, the ties which bind soul to soul, in the position of natural, social and fam- 
ily duties. Each of these contributions was in perfect mechanism a gem. Each 
topped the apex of the pyramids of peaceful and warlike contributions, which had 
been constructed of the monuments of human art and human science, collected from 
all parts of the globe, within the transparent walls of that wondrous edifice, the 
Crystal Palace. 

As more has been written and said of Colt's Repeating pistols, than of any other 
article at the World's Fair, the question instinctively arises — how is it that we are 
so much more stirred in our destructive than in our conservative attributes ? We 
give voluminous extracts thereon from different writers. 

The British Army Despatch says : 

It was our opinion, as well as that of a professional friend, when present at the 
lecture delivered by Colonel Colt himself at the Institution of Civil Engineers, that 
not only is there as yet no rival to this weapon, although there are many attempts 
at imitation, but that no ideal improvement suggests itself to the mind. Colonel 
Colt has been many years occupied in perfecting these arms. Step by step has he 
arrived at that which seems so simple, namely, perfection, but which in reality is 
the result of many a weary thought and puzzled contemplation — of combinations, 
calculations, comparisons, adaptations, innumerable. How often are brains deprived 
of the fruit of all this labor by want of capital or worldly tact and judgment ! From 
what we hear it is not so in the present instance, since the Colonel, whilst already 
reaping a large income in his own country, is about to appear on the scene here 
with all his arrangements completed for producing his repeating arms not only in 
abundance, but at such prices as will totally destroy all the hopes of unfair competi- 
tion entertained by sorry imitators. Hitherto Colonel Colt has, we understand, 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 



63 



treated all- such with supreme indifference. When told that some one or other was 
absolutely infringing on his patent, he replied to the following effect — "I'll tell you 
what it is. There's no one can make Sam Colt's pistols like Sam Colt ; and if 
John Bull don't know it now, he'll soon find it out." We believe, in some instances, 
it has already been found out. We rejoice particularly in the personal success of 
this inventor, because we have so frequently observed that genius and perseverance 
have been left unrewarded, by some jackal of a fellow stepping in and seizing all the 
benefit, whilst a man is still wrestling with calamity or those petty difficulties which 
have tripped up the greatest men, and those which have achieved the greatest con- 
quests under the banner of invention, knowledge and art. 

From the London Punch. 

JOHN BULL TO COLONEL COLT. 



Oh! Colonel Colt, 

A thunderbolt 
I'd buy — for no small trifle; 

But that can't be, 

And so let me 
Get your revolving rifle ! 

A desperate blade, 

By whom are made 
No sort of bones whatever 

Of any crime, 

At any time 
The bonds of faith may sever 



Attack my 

doors, 



-OLiiauji. my shores, 

Surround my dooro, 
Without a word of warning 

Upon me creep 

Whilst I'm asleep 
And snoring, some fine morning : 

Bob my strong box, 

And seize my flocks, 
Herds, cocks, and hens, and pullets. 

I want your gun, 

Instead of one 
That fires so many bullets. 



To guard our wives, 

By six rogues' lives, 
Whereof we're each the holders, 

If we take care 

With skill to bear 
Your rifle at our shoulders. 

But Colt, alas ! 
To what a pass — 

To what a sad condition- 
Have we been brought, 
Who fondly thought 

The World's Great Exhibition 

Would bid war cease 

And endless peace 
With all our neighbors send us, 

Whilst its chief boon 

Is found — how soon — 
Your weapon to defend us ! 

Loth, loth indeed, 

I'd " draw the bead" 
On mortal upper story; 

But just alarm 

Drives me to arm 
Against the fool of " Glory." 



Prom the British Army Despatch. 

COLONEL COLT'S ANSWER TO JOHN BULL. 



Oh I Father Bull, 

You air a fool, 
And that's as true as thunder, 

Or you'd not wait 

To tempt your fate, 
But cut that bridge asunder. 

There's broad-brimm'd Bright, 

Cries peace for spite, 
Each despot thanks the Quaker ; 

Who when Crapaud 

His boat shall tow, 
Will turn into a " Shaker." 



There is a thing 

By Cit and King 
Known as procrastination ; 

When skeer'd you'll try, 

Too late to buy 
My arms, in trepidation. 

There's yon smart chap, 
Call'd kite-flying Nap, 

Will find you work in plenty ; 
You'll want a gun 
Before you've done 

To shoot not six, but twenty. 



G4 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 



I reckon %Jbhn 

You'd best clap on 
All hands for your defences, 

Or else you'll be 

Right up a tree 
"Where air your tarnal senses \ 

D'ye think, friend Bull, 

Each lout can pull, 
With sartain aim a trigger ? 

I'll tell you what 

I'd take the lot, 
Old boy, at a low figure. 

I guess, old coon, 
You'd best arm soon 
And talk no more about it, 



Your us'd-up name 

Will else lose fame, 

And Destiny shall spout it. 

We'll come (if paid) 

Quick to your aid, 
" Six-shooters" o'er the water, 

The French shall dance 

Right back to France 
With no mock-turtle slaughter. 

And since your ships 

Are on the slips, 
And for your brave defenders, 

We'll bear the rubs 

While your old tubs 
Shall be our squadron's tenders. 



We take the following from a little work published in this country, expressly to 
point out the excellence of this weapon : 

Among all the objects of interest which the skill and enterprize of our country- 
men presented to the world in this great theatre, none attracted more attention than 
" Colt's" Repeating pistols. Assembled within the crystal walls of that magnificent 
palace, erected for the purpose of promoting peace and harmony in the great family 
of man, were found the warriors of all nations — from the Chinese foot-soldier — 
whose knowledge carries him no farther than to turn summersets to frighten the 
enemy, — to the splendid trooper of the Horse-Guards, whose clanking accoutrements 
glittering in the sun, delighted the more primitive soldier. All these men of war 
naturally clustered about the stands where implements of destruction were exhibited 
— the more refined soldier seeing in the greater power of modern weapons the most 
potent elements of peace; and the more savage only considering how much more re- 
venge he might take upon his half-civilized enemy. 

But, in whatever aspect the different observers viewed the American Repeater, 
all agreed that it had reached perfection in the art of destruction. None were more 
astonished than the English, to find themselves so far surpassed in an art which they 
had practised and studied for centuries — by a nation whose existence was within the 
memory of man, and whose greatest triumphs had been in the paths of peaceful in- 
dustry. Lord Wellington was found often in the American department, pointing 
out the great advantage of these repeaters to other officers and his friends ; and the 
different scientific as well as popular journals of the country united in one common 
tribute of praise to the ingenuity and genius of Colonel Colt. The Institute of Ci- 
vil Engineers invited Col. Colt to read a paper before its members upon the subject 
of these arms, and two of its meetings were occupied in hearing him, and in discuss- 
ing the merits of his invention. This, we believe, was the first time that an Amer- 
ican Engineer has been thus complimented by this celebrated Institute. The Bri- 
tish Government, too, sensibly impressed with the importance of placing in the 
hands of their troops arms of this construction, have taken off the prohibition 
against the importation of fire arms — in favor of Colonel Colt — for the first time in 
its history ; and now, arms made in America are sent to England, free of duty, to 
compete with the manufacturers of Sheffield and Birmingham. 

From the London Times of Monday, June 9, 1851. 

Crossing now to the south side of the building, let our Lancashire visitors look 
round the walls, dedicated to the produce of Vermont and Massachusetts. It is not 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 65 

much, to be sure, that they will see, but if the Americans have failed to display 
their manufactures, they at least exhibit themselves. Velut in speculum should be 
the motto of the compartment, for so numerous and life-like are the daguerreotypes, 
that we could gaze upon " United States worthies" as effectually as if we had got 
them within the reach of Rosse's telescope. Here, then, first praying our friends 
to recall what they have been told about the British army and its officers, its aristo- 
crats, its finery, as compared with the Quaker-like economy of the States, we desire 
them to remark that every third " worthy" is a soldier, and not only a soldier, but an 
officer, and not only an officer, but a general. Moreover they are all in uniform, 
with very big epaulettes, and if there is any truth in Physiognomy, they really 
u mean fighting." 

If the Manchester and Liverpool visitor has still any lingering doubts respecting 
the reality of this martial spirit, let him go over to the stall furnished by Col. Colt 
for the benefit of our fancy fair. He will find the attendant particularly communi- 
cative and easy ; naturally proud of his remarkable country and his distinguished 
employer, and ready with every information respecting the new spinning jenny, 
which is to work a revolution in war. The most popular and famous invention of 
American industry, is a pistol which will kill eight times as quick as the weapon 
formerly in use. It has been reported upon by committees, and sanctioned by Con- 
gress, and so keen is the national appreciation of this great discovery, that the Re- 
publican Grovernment of Washington does not hesitate to pay about three times as 
much for cavalry pistols as England pays for infantry muskets. 

All visitors of the Great Exhibition must have remarked a kind of oasis in the 
desolate prairie appropriated to the reception of the numerous consignments expec- 
ted from the United States. However profound maybe the adjacent solitudes, here, 
at least, a knot of enterprising travellers may always be seen gathered around a kind 
of military trophy which is affixed to the northern side of the nave. This grim 
display consists of numerous pistols of sufficient dimensions, symmetrically arranged 
in rows against the wall, or in cases upon a small counter, and constitutes the most 
important contribution of our Transatlantic friends to the Exhibition of the Indus- 
try of all nations. Have you a difference of opinion with a rival legislator ? Would 
you clear your path of a troublesome competitor in the walks of art or literature ? — 
Is it necessary to give a draft at sight for losses incurred at the gambling table ? — 
Would you transfer your talents to the " diggins," and secure your profits against 
the impure rapacity of your contemporaries ? Would you enroll your name among 
the pioneers of civilization in Texas, or join Sir Harry Smith at the Cape ? — here 
are the means of gratifying all your desires and carrying all your enterprises to a 
successful issue. You stand before the counter of the American Jenner. Here 
you may make yourself acquainted with the new method of vaccination, as performed 
by the practitioners of the Far West, upon the rude tribes who yet incumber the 
wilderness with their presence. This, in a word, is the stand of Samuel Colt, the 
inventor of the six-barrelled revolving pistol, an arm which in all probability will 
supersede the fire-arms at present carried by the cavalry of every military power, 
and which, by the extension of the invention, might be made equally applicable to 
the efficiency of the foot service. The weapon is of the simplest kind, although it 
is clear enough that a vast amount of pains must have been bestowed upon the 
attainment of what seems to be a very simple result. Two kinds of pistols have 
been invented by Mr. Colt — the one he terms a " holster," the other a "belt" pis- 
tol. The weight of the first is 41b. 4oz. ; of the second, 21b. 6oz. The arm in either 
case consists of a revolving cylinder, containing six charges, and one barrel. 



66 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

From the London American Magazine. 

HOBBS, THE AMERICAN ARTISAN. 

A Stray Leaf or Two of Adventure from his Note Book. 

BY HENRY HOWARD PAUL. 

" 'Tis in my memory locked." — Hamlet. 

" Open locks, 'tis Hobbs that knocks." — Macbeth — improved. 

"Hobbs laughs at locksmiths."— Old Play Title— emended. 

It will not be regarded an idle vaunt when we say that the Americans on this 
side of the water have distinguished themselves the present industrial year. Our 
yacht made a stir in the placid water of public feeling ; the reaping machine has 
carried every thing before it, causing the farmers to join in the affectionate desire 
that their sickles might "goto grass" and make way for the new notion; somebody 
from Philadelphia exhibited an artificial leg, so full of vitality as to induce " Punch" 
to facetiously and felicitously recommend people suffering with troublesome 
continuations to have them dislodged and try the patent cork invention ; and last, 
though unequivocally not least, Mr. Hobbs has opened the vast lock of public 
enlightenment to one fact, that Chubb and Bramah have not invented such 
insurmountable safeguards as they hitherto imagined. We rejoice at these little 
triumphs, not that we desire to croak over them, but merely because our short 
comings in the Crystal Palace are now in a manner recompensed. We have proved 
to the world, although we did not overburden our division with untold quantities 
of fantastic and quasi-useless ornament, that we are a true and patriotic race of 
utilitarians, imbued with the intensest spirit of practice. 

Eh Men, but this is not what we picked up our Gillott to indite. We design to 
communicate some facts to the reader in regard to the personal character of the 
man whose name stands at the head of this article. His exploits have been so 
freely commented on by the press, that he may now be considered an article of 
general property; and even if this were not the case, the public can have no 
objection to familiarise themselves with some little incidents in the career of one 
who, besides being undoubtedly gifted in a strange faculty, is one of the kindest- 
hearted, most amiable men that we ever remember to have met, at home or abroad. 
And now for our outline : 

The ancestry of Hobbs is English, his father having been born in the metropolis 
,. of England, and his maternal parent a native of Montgomery, in the beautiful 
county of Shropshire. Just before the birth of their third son, Alfred, (which 
1 occurred in Boston,) they emigrated to the United States, so that our hero barely 
escaped being an Englishman, an accident which the Americans need not regret, 
as any country might put a laurel in her brow at the citizenship. At the age of 
five, little Alfred lost his father by the hand of death, and was sent by his widowed 
mother to a farm near the town of Westfield, Massachusetts, where he remained up 
to the age of fourteen, working on the farm during the summer months, and 
attending a small village school in the winter. But this domestic life of quietude 
did not agree with the temperament of the lad, for about this time he conceived a 
strong desire to brave the perils of the sea ; and after much deliberation on the 
part of his mother, she reluctantly consented to his departure. He had been 
reading marvellous adventures of " Robinson Crusoe," and the extraordinary events 
in the life of that paragon of good lads, "Jack Halyard," and nothing would 
answer but some experience on the ocean. All the persuasion of friends and the 
entreaty of relatives made no impression on his youthful mind, so firmly implanted 
was the adventurous desire, and on a fine summer's morning our hero went gaily 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 67 

out of Boston harbor in the ship " Leonidas," bound for Havre, in France. The 
voyage chanced to be excessively stormy and boisterous, and the privations on board 
of the vessel so great, that they entirely dispelled all maritime longings, and this 
initial trip was his last. Soon after returning home he entered into the occupation 
of glass cutting, and during this time invented a peculiar glass door knob, which 
came into general use in New England. By this invention he was brought a great 
deal into communication with locksmiths, and forming a friendship with Sir. Pettis, 
an eminent engineer of Boston, also an accomplished and most ingenious artisan, 
Mr. Hobbs developed his first notions of art in this respect. A very celebrated lock 
at this period was the " Parautoptic," introduced by the firm of Day and Newell, 
and Hobbs and his engineering friend spent many hours together in devising means 
to open it, but without success. It defied all attempts of research and ingenuity ; 
but this fact led to the discovery of means by which almost every lock then in use 
could be picked with little trouble, and our hero soon after had an opportunity of 
testing his abilities in this respect. A citizen of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, had 
invented a new lock, and with considerable flourish of trumpets announced, in all 
the papers of the day, that it was impenetrable; and, as an evidence of his own 
faith, promised a reward of five hundred dollars to whoever would open it. This 
tempting offer brought out Hobbs, who signified his determination of attempting the 
task, and an iron safe, in which the lock was placed, was deposited in the Merchants' 
Exchange of New York. All the arrangements completed, the money was placed 
in the safe, and Hobbs, about nine o'clock in the evening, proceeded to work with 
the tools he had prepared. The proprietor of the lock, with a few friends, lingered 
anxiously by, watching every movement of the operator, and about midnight they 
were mutually congratulating themselves that the attempt was ineffectual, and on 
the strength of this belief adjourned to a neighboring cafe to enjoy a bottle of wine. 
Hobbs was petitioned to accompany them, but declining, still progressed with his 
efforts. About twenty minutes after they were gone, all at once the " deed was 
done," the springs yielded, and the lock flew back. Hobbs transferred the contents 
of the safe to his pockets, (as per agreement if he succeeded,) and quietly departed 
for home. The surprise of the proprietor of the lock may be imagined on discovering 
the result of the operation. His faith disappeared like snow beneath the rays of 
the sun, and he never announced any more gifts to be thus summarily carried off 
while enjoying his wine. 

This occurrence being freely commented on by the press, our artisan in a few 
weeks found himself somewhat famous in his new branch of business ; and receiving 
overtures from a large bank-lock house of the city of New York, he connected 
himself with it, and started on an expedition through the country, with the view 
of visiting the most important banks. His object was, of course, to persuade them, 
if possible, to purchase new locks; and in order to carry out his views more 
effectually, he always went prepared with tools to pick the ones they had then in 
use. His first operation was on the massive locks of the vaults of Morristown, in 
the State of New Jersey, having, by dint of considerable persuasion, induced the 
president and directors to permit him to display his ingenuity. 

The president of the bank was a musty, crusty old gentleman of the ancient 
regime, and he complacently smiled at the idea of the locks of their institution 
being opened. 

" Open our locks \" exclaimed he, smiling, but with a shade of defiance on his 
brow ; " open our locks ! why they are secure as the rocks of Gibraltar — the 
adamant of Potali; it will be labor thrown away, young man — labor thrown away !" 
and the old gentleman seemed in his heart to repudiate the very semblance of the 
idea. 

But our hero was not to be daunted. He had heard the same confident opinion 
expressed before, over and over again, and went of course prepared to meet them. 



68 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

The directors and the president had a long and close conference on the subject, and 
finally it was arranged that the trial should take place. Much delighted at the idea 
of his enterprise, Mr. Hobbs then proceeded to work, it being arranged that the 
officers of the bank should remain in their committee room one hour. The vaults 
were then locked, and the large bunch of keys taken in to the old president, who 
carefully placed them on the table before him and ensconced himself in an easy 
chair to await the result. 

The directors all talked and wondered, the president adjusted his wig in a reverie, 
and Hobbs worked diligently at his task. Half an hour passed over, and all at 
once a loud and significant click was heard. The president started and hobbled in 
the direction from which the sound proceeded, followed by the directors in a grand 
scamper. Away they went, all in a glow of wonder and excitement, and their 
surprise can be easily conceived when they found the huge iron doors of the vaults 
that contained all their precious wealth standing wide open, and the operator sitting 
on a chair with his legs crossed and his countenance bearing the most imperturbable 
look of perfect satisfaction. The experiment was most complete, and our hero 
received an order forthwith to supply a new set of locks, coupled with a very high 
compliment for his skill and perseverance. 

The next field for his exertions was the city of Philadelphia, where he picked in 
a few moments a lock in a large banking institution, made by the distinguished Pat 
Lyon, whose patriotic career is strongly identified with the early records of the 
United States. This lock had been considered a model for strength and adaptability, 
and Hobbs by this achievement added another laurel to his already blooming 
chaplet. 

Mr. Hobbs, in his travels on the other side of the Atlantic, always carried a little, 
mysterious black trunk, filled with his implements and tools, which often gave rise 
to inquiry and remark. The appearance of this trunk once led to the commission 
of a practical joke in the city of Baltimore, which we will endeavor to relate. 

Our hero had gone to that city on some professional business — to prove to the 
inhabitants that their locks were not as impregnable as they imagined, we presume 
— and, as usual, sent his little black trunk from the railway station by the porter 
to " Barnum's Hotel," the clerk of which knew it at once as the property of his 
friend Hobbs. The chief clerk, Mr. Mcllheny, was a gay, waggish fellow, and 
immediately determined on having a joke at the expense of the famous picklock, 
with whom, it will be understood, he was on terms of the closest intimacy. Procuring 
a key he opened the little mystic trunk, and immediately sent for one Bidgely, 
a distinguished thief taker, to whom he exhibited its sullen and suspicious contents, 
at the same time telling him that it had just been brought from the railway by the 
porter, and doubtless the owner would soon arrive. 

"You may depend it's the property of a thief," remarked Kidgely, in high glee 
at the prospect of a capture. 

"To be sure it is, and an accomplished rogue at that," said the clerk slyly, and 
one by one he laid out the tools, with a meaning glance at each. " There's a 
formidable lot, I must say." 

" Formidable ! By Jove, you're right," rejoined the thief taker. " He's got 
tools enough here to break into every treasury in town." 

This passed on, and the implements were replaced with a great deal of mystery. 
Leaving Bidgely in the office in a state of wonderment, the wag strolled out, as 
if it were by accident, to the street door, where he had not stood but a few moments, 
before Hobbs arrived in a cab from the railway station, having been detained there 
a little time by the accidental meeting of some friends. 

"Hallo, Hobbs! how d'do?" exclaimed M'llheny, glad to see his old friend. 

" Never better, old bricktop; how do you find yourself V was the response. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S PAIR. 69 

"I've got a rare joke on you, or rather on Ridgly, the police officer/' added 
the clerk, '" and I want you to join me — will you ?" 

" Will I ? ' Thou need'st not ask me, Damon.' Will I! to be sure. Just post 
me up, and I'm on hand." 

Mcllheny then briefly told him what had passed between Ridgly and himself, 
and it was agreed that Hobbs should call at a certain hour in the evening for the 
trunk, and in- the meantime observe a very distant and suspicious line of conduct 
about the house. 

Mcllheny then rejoined the thief taker in the office, and told him that he had 
just seen a man whom he strongly suspected of being the owner of the trunk, and 
it was arranged, in order to fasten the suspicion on him, that Ridgly should keep 
watch on him until he made application, which would be proof positive of the owner- 
ship. 

In a very short time Hobbs walked leisurely into the hotel, and passed by 
Ridgly and his friend. He took no notice whatever of them, but hanging his 
head, with several artful glances, went into the drawing room. 

" That's the man," whispered Mcllheny, to the thief catcher. " That's the 
man, as sure as you are born." 

" To be sure it be," coincided Ridgly, in an important tone. u Did you observe 
how sheepish and frightened he looked when he passed by me ? He's the fellow, 
take my word, and I'll keep a bright eye on him." 

" That's right," added the Clerk, inwardly congratulating himself on the success 
of his scheme. "Don't let him slip for the world. I'll bet a five dollar bill that 
he's some big burglar — -a tiptop thief — some huge rascal; never let him slip if you 
value your position." 

" Never fear me ;" and so saying he left Mcllheny, and also strolled into the 
drawing room. Hobbs took the cue at once, and looked up at him uneasily from 
under his hat, and immediately left the room. Ridgly followed him, and as he 
passed out winked at the clerk, as much as to say, " You're right, this is the man." 

Hobbs then went into the street, and stopped in front of a bank, and appeared to 
be very much engaged in examining the doors and arrangements of the fastenings ; 
then went a short distance further, and minutely inspected the details of a jeweller's 
window ; then walked into a shop, and inquired the price of some articles, and at 
the same time looked doubtingly around him. All this while Ridgly was in pur- 
suit, sometimes before and sometimes behind him,, but never losing sight 
of his prey. After walking some six or eight miles in various parts of the 
city, much to the chagrin of his follower, who by this time began to grow weary 
of his mission, Hobbs espied a single cab at the corner of the street, and calling on 
the driver instructed him to drive him swiftly several miles around the town, and at 
length set him down at " Barnum's Hotel." 

Ridgly was all in a fever ; there was no other cab in sight, and to lose the vic- 
tim after such a severe tramp was provoking. He rushed around for a few moments, 
and, getting very red in the face, started off in a brisk run after the cab, determined, 
if possible, to keep it in view. Hobbs peeped through the window of the vehicle, 
and could just see the thief taker puffing and blowing as though he were pursued by 
a thousand furies. Such a laugh as he had to himself can be imagined. After fol- 
lowing for at least a mile, Ridgiy came across a vacant cab, and, jumping into it, 
hastily directed the driver to keep a respectable distance behind the one in advance, 
which contained the object of his solicitude. 

On they went for a long time in a roundabout manner, all of which strange move- 
ments strengthened the belief in Ridgly's mind that Hobbs was some mysterious 
outlaw on a reconnoitering expedition. All sorts of fantastic visions of flagrant 
crime presented themselves to the busy mind of the thief taker, and he prided him- 
self that he was the most efficient man of the day. At last Hobbs's cab drew up in 



70 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

front of Barnum's Hotel, as directed ; the other did the same, after an interval of a 
few moments — a wise stroke of policy as Ridgly thought, which was to prevent sus- 
picion, and within a short time of each other both entered the house. 

Very naturally, Ridgly proceeded at once to his friend, the clerk, to relate his 
adventure, who affected to be intensely interested at the recital. 

During their absence a number of the lodgers of the hotel — a clan of jolly fellows 
— had been let into the secret, and it was arranged that they should be about the 
office when Hobbs inquired for the little black trunk. 

Shortly after tea, when all the lodgers were, as if by accident, standing around 
the office, Hobbs walked from the supper room in a quiet manner, and presenting 
himself at the office calmly inquired if any thing had been seen of a small black 
trunk. 

Mcllheny pretended to look around for it ; Ridgly, full almost to bursting with 
excitement, exchanged significant glances with the proprietor of the hotel, and the 
lodgers preserved their gravity. 

" I hope to gracious it is not lost," exclaimed Hobbs, bustling about with great 
anxiety. " I'm going off in the early train in the morning, and that trunk contains 
valuables of a highly important nature." 

" Oh, here it is, sir," suddenly said the clerk, and he handed it to Hobbs, who 
clutched it with a well affected shudder of agitation. 

"Thank you — thank you; I'll take it to my room," he remarked; "I don't 
know what I should have done without it ;" and passing out of the office, he ad- 
vanced only a few steps, when Ridgly, with his eyes dancing about in their sockets, 
laid his hand eagerly on his shoulder, and remarked that he wanted to speak pri- 
vately with him. 

All at once a general laugh burst from the crowd. 

" What the deuce can be the matter V thought Ridgly, and looking round in a 
fever of bewilderment, another long shout arose, in which Hobbs this time joined 
most heartily. 

"Hallo! what? D it, can it be that I've been hoaxed!" exclaimed 

Ridgly, as again glancing at the merry countenances around him he saw something 
was wrong. Removing his hand suddenly from the shoulder of his long-watched 
victim, he shrieked, in a loud and disappointed voice, his eyes starting nearly out 
of his head, " Gammoned by the eternal Julius Caisar!" and the last seen of him 
for some time in those parts, was a "man of about his size and figure" making a 
desperate rush through a back door, with his coat tail standing out at an angle 
with his head. A scream of laughter echoed through the recesses of that hotel for 
some minutes after, and the affair ended by Hobbs and a party of convivial fellows 
adjourning to a refectory near the Monument, where Champagne and " chicken 
fixins" stood out in bold relief, and a grand toast was drunk, standing — 

u Here's to Hobbs and his affectionate friend, the thief taker J" 

About two years since, our hero took a long trip down the Mississippi river, and 
among other places visited New Orleans. His fame, it seems, had preceded him, 
for he had only been in the city a few days when he was waited on by a committee 
formed of the directors of the Louisiana bank, and invited to test the security of 
their locks. An old Frenchman, who was teller of the institution, and who also 
kept the keys of the vaults, was much opposed to the attempt, and when Hobbs set 
about the undertaking he vented all sorts of displeasure at his temerity in doubting 
the security of their locks. 

" Mon Dieu !" cried Monsieur, with a shrug and a pinch of snuff from a highly 
embossed box, " ze locks are impregnable — no Zyankee trick ncvare open our locks. 
I tell you, Monsieur Hobb, that you will make von grand mistake — ze diable him- 
self could never open ze locks of dis bank " 

" We shall see," sententiously observed nobbs, proposing to operate. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 71 

" Ve sail zee vat ve sail zee. Morbleu ! I like zee idea of our locks being pick — 
lion, non, Monsieur. Zis is von Men joke — vat you call trick, eh?" 

" No trick at all, as you will presently find/' remarked Hobbs. " Only give rne 
air, and a little time, and I'll keep my word, I promise you." 

" Ha ! ha ! air and time. By gar, you vill vant a big deal of air, and a zene- 
ration before you open zese locks; vork away till ze perspirater run off of your nose 
and your eye vinks with fatigue. If zis money vas my propert-ee I vould give you 
all if you open, mon ami." 

Hobbs, nothing vexed by the teller's irascibility, studiously proceeded in bis ef- 
forts, and within an hour actually succeeded in his undertaking. The directors 
were all highly impressed with the skill of Hobbs, and agreed that he came sur- 
prisingly up to the mark of the brightest representation. As for the Frenchman, 
he was absolutely dumbfounded, his countenance undergoing a greater number of 
changes in the course of five minutes than a modern kaleidoscope swiftly agitated. 

Our hero grew into great favor in the " Crescent City," as New Orleans is some- 
times called, and for a whole season he was the " lion" of various fetes and galliards, 
got up expressly in his honor. 



THE YACHT AMERICA. 

TESTIMONIAL AND DINNER TO GEORGE STEERS — BRITANNIA DOES NOT RULE 
THE WAVES — PROGRESS OP THE MODEL REPUBLIC, ETC. 

In January 1852, a presentation of a testimonial was made to Mr. George Steers, con- 
structor of the yacht America, that " whipped" every thing of British mould in their 
own waters. The presentation was accompanied by a dinner given at Metropolitan 
Hall. The appointed hour was six o'clock, but dinner was not on the table till 20 
minutes past seven o'clock. There were about three hundred gentlemen present, 
and a band of music tended to enliven the proceedings. 

At the back of the head table, in the centre, was the following inscription — "New 
York — the skill of her naval architects acknowledged." On either side of this in- 
scription were the names, " Henry Eckford," — " Isaac Webb." The folds of the 
American and English flags completed the decorations»of this end of the room. At 
the opposite end was a banner, having the words, " Robert Fulton," in very large 
letters, surrounded by a festoonery of the stripes and stars. 

Mr. John Dimon of the firm of Smith & Dimon, ship-builders, presided. On 
his right sat the guest of the evening, Mr. George Steers, Mr. Brady, Postmaster 
of New York, W. H. Brown, Mr. S. Draper, Mr. E. K. Collins, Mr. Tomlinson j 
on the left, George Law, Mr. Smith, ship- builder, Mr. Harrison, &c. Among the 
gentlemen in the body of the room, we observed John McKeon, late District Attor- 
ney, Mr. Davies, late Counsel to the Corporation, Mr. Dunham, of the Archimedes 
Works, ex- Alderman James Kelly, Captain French, &c. , &c. 

As soon as the company were shown from the ante-room into the dining hall, 

Mr. George Law said, — gentlemen, I am happy to see that such an interest has 
been taken in a matter of so much importance to the country. The present cen- 
tury is one to which the peculiar excellence of naval architecture owes its fame. It 
has grown with the growth of the country — all that has been so deserving of our 
pride, and which we have so much reason to admire, belongs to the present century. 
As our nation got strength, this branch of mechanical pursuits grew to its present 
state of practical superiority. During our struggle for independence, it is well 
known that the facility for bringing the means from England, which was desirous of 



72 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

trampling upon us, were but frail and imperfect; and through these imperfections 
on her part, we were enabled to develop our resources — we were enabled to contend 
with their power, and to push our conquests till our liberty was gained. Gentlemen, 
we owe to the mechanics a debt of gratitude — we owe to them much of that com- 
mercial greatness as a nation, which we now enjoy ; for without that skill in con- 
structing the ships in which our commerce is distributed throughout the world, we 
should indeed know but little of our present greatness which we now enjoy in that 
particular pursuit. "When the "World's Fair was announced — when that invitation 
went abroad — when every pursuit was invited to present there the fruits of its labor, 
and produce the results of skill and science ; then it was that an occasion occurred 
for our mechanics in naval architecture to evince theirs ; and the young man who 
had grown up with the growth of the upper part of our city, whose boyhood days 
were spent in the ship yard, where he gathered these lessons which were turned to 
such good account, while others probably were looking upon his attention as of no con- 
sequence — stood forward at that time. It might be well for us to look with respect 
and regard to those children who are now perhaps neglected, for in their minds the 
greatest results may yet spring up to our country. . There are those standing beside 
me, who know well from his infancy Mr. George Steers. (Applause.) I know how 
his skill was acquired — it was from constructing boats, as well as from sailing, and 
from the practical skill which he thus acquired from both these combined. Some of 
our citizens desired, at that time when this invitation went forth to the world, in 
1851, that there should be present in the English waters a trial of our skill in naval 
architecture, and Mr. George Steers was the man who was selected to build a craft 
for that purpose. Mr. Wm. Brown was the person who entered into the contest. 
(Applause.) The construction of this vessel was entrusted to Mr. Steers, and from 
the first line which was laid down in the mould, until the sails and rigging 
were put upon the vessel, all were entrusted to Mr. George Steers. (Applause.) The 
vessel was built ; she took her departure from these shores in August ; she crossed 
from here to Havre, after a passage of some twenty days ; from Havre she went to 
Cowes, and there remained until the trial took place at the regatta, where she esta- 
blished her excellence. (Cheers.) As soon as she arrived in the English waters, 
and, I believe, on her passage from the point where she took her pilot to Havre, not- 
withstanding their desire to hold her in check, yet so much of her qualities had 
evinced themselves that the knowledge went from the pilot to the English Yacht 
Club, and no trial of speed on the waters could be made — no trial of skill could be 
had till the regatta took place, and the Queen's cup, which was free to all nations, 
according to the rules of the club, opened the door and admitted her to a berth. 
The result of this race is known to you all. She started in the rear of a dozen 
yachts, and, in a distance of about six miles, passed them all. (Cheers.) The port 
to which they ran and returned was some sixty miles, and the distance which she 
beat them was some seven or eight miles. After this her fame was established, and 
there was nothing further to be done. Mr. George Steers in the meantime returned 
to this country. I am happy to state that my worthy friend who now stands before 
me (Mr. E. K. Collins) invited him to return in one of his ships. Yes, it was in 
one of the Collins' line of steamers, which have done so much to advance the fame 
of the country, that my worthy friend sent an invitation, and insisted that the 
American mechanic should return in an American bottom. Well, sir, he hft the 
yacht there — of course they purchased her — but what we are gratified at is, that 
they returned us the man. We could readily spare them the vessel, aye, and a hun- 
dred more, but, we say, do not take from us our shipwrights. Leave us them, and 
we ask no more. When the contest is to be made, and when the prize is to be won, 
you may be sure that the stars and stripes, and the American Eagle, will float tri- 
umphantly to the wind. As an evidence of gratitude that we lost nothing but the 
ship, we have prepared here a presentation as a testimonial of the estimation in 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S PAIR. ' 73 

•which we regard the man who constructed this yacht, and acquired this triumph for 
our country. We have prepared here two pitchers, two salvers, and two goblets, to 
be presented to Mr. Steers, and I trust we shall all feel a pleasure in drinking his 
health when the opportunity arrives. And now, Mr. George Steers, in presenting 
them to you, on behalf of the Committee, as a token of our high regard and of our 
estimation for you, sir, as a mechanic and a man, I trust, sir, you will accept them 
at our hands, and that is the highest honor we wish to receive. 

Mr. Steers, who was inaudible, and seemed completely overpowered by his feel- 
ings, intimated the profound sentiment of gratitude which filled his heart on this 
occasion, and which rendered him utterly incapable of expressing his thanks in words. 
He was gratified and thankful for this manifestation. 

The pitchers bore the following inscription : — 

Presented to George Steers, Esq., as a testimonial of respect for his mechanical 
skill, as evinced in the construction of the yacht America. 

COMMITTEE. 

E. K. Collins, James Kelley, Peter R. Stelle, 

Greorge Law, Thomas Stack, Henry R. Dunham, 

John Dimon, Jacob A. Westervelt, Andrew K. Mickle, 

James Murphy Thomas Dunham, Emanuel B. Hart, 

J. K. Stanton, Wm. H. Webb, B. B. Boerum, 

Isaac V. Fowler. 
JOHN DIMON, Chairman. 
J. K. Stanton, Secretary. 

December, 1851. 

The company then sat down to dinner, and ample justice having been done to the 
viands, 

The President gave the first toast as follows : — " The President of the United 
States — a name beloved by twenty-three millions of free people, and honored by 
uncounted millions, longing to enjoy with us the sacred and inestimable blessings 
— Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Free Suffrage — and all the rights of 
•man to self-government." — Music — " The President's March.". 

The toast was duly honored. 

The next toast was — " The yacht America and her young designer — her proud 
achievements attest his genius, and entitle him to a name, which, like hers, speaks 
for itself." Music — " Star Spangled Banner." 

Mr. Theodore E. Tomlinson replied on the part of Mr. Steers, as follows : — Yes, 
gentlemen, " the yacht America and her young designer !" Mr. Steers, when only four 
years of age, came to this city — the central city of the Western World — and which 
is destined to be the commercial centre of all the world. His father was a ship- 
wright — his brothers were shipwrights, so that his success was not the success attri- 
butable to chance. We need not look for its source in accident, fortune, or patron- 
age — it sprung from labor. He studied by night and dreamed by day of the " great 
ships which go down to the sea." When fifteen years of age, he asked his father 
if he might plan a boat; his father gave him his consent, and he planned 
a boat. Its name was Martin Van Buren, and it outstripped all its competi- 
tors. Again, he planned a row boat, and as he was moving in her over the 
waters, he came near the yacht of J. C. Stevens, who hailed and asked the name 
of his boat. He answered and gave the name, and Mr. Stevens presented him with 
colors, and that rowboat won the prize. He built the Manhattan— and the Una, 
which, in all its races but one, won the prizes. He built the Wagstaff and the 
Moses H. Grinnell, and the greatest tribute to these boats is, that they were wor- 
thy of their names. (Applause.) His was the Cornelia and the Saint Mary, which 
did to the State so much service in the Mexican war. His too, was the Mary 

10 



74 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Taylor, and when he built her a gentleman of the sea told him, in his discourage- 
ment, that he would he afraid to go out to sea in her ; but this child of labor worked 
on at the craft and sent her out, and she left fear and fright behind her, and danced 
in triumph over the sea ; and the Mary Taylor now challenges the world to compete 
with her for the mastery of the sea. I mention the fact to show the accomplishments 
of the man, and to repeat again that it is not like chance — that it is not accident 
which gives him a place in the nation's estimation, and I wish for him, and through 
him to speak to the young mechanic of the land, and tell him to work out his own des- 
tiny — to accomplish his own mission — for his destiny is in his own hands, and he is the 
architect of his own fortune. Is this not true in the moral as in the physical world? 
The hail stone — the single hail stone may break the shelter extended over the gentle 
plant, and the blast of the wind may chill it to death; but the tree which grows on the 
bare soil of the bleak mountain top will stretch out its embracing arms to wrestle with 
the storms. Let us pass to another scene — England, yes, Great Britain, whom I 
sometimes see through Ireland's wrongs and through Eastern oppression, and whom 
I sometimes remember by the bloody track of my father's foot in revolutionary times 
— England, I say, with unerring sagacity, seeing the destiny of the day, proposed 
to build a crystal palace to labor, and invited the nations of the earth to send forth 
their workmen in rivalry with hers. It was natural, very natural, that the people 
of the United States — believing themselves equal to all the people on the face of 
the earth — should endeavor to hold up emulation with that nation which claims the 
trident of the seas. To this young mechanic — to this illiterate boy — the power and 
the pride of the nation applied. This gentleman on my right asked him if he could 
build a boat of 150 tons which could beat any boat in the world; and he remem- 
bered the Una, and the Mary Taylor, and the St. Mary, and he answered that he 
could. (Applause.) He was then asked if he could build a boat that could beat 
any vessel of the sloop rig — (and you will remember, gentlemen, that the sloop- 
rigged vessel has from five to ten per cent, the advantage of such craft as the Ame- 
rica) — and he said he could. He was then asked if he could beat with a craft of 
150 tons, any boat which would be got to sail in the English seas, and with the 
pride of a native American he said he could. (Renewed applause.) Then the strong- 
est shipwrights and ship owners of our city came to him and said, " Do the work — 
do the work." Imagine the agony of this unlettered boy, who, like the great Kos- 
suth held an empire in his brain; and he built a boat to beat the world. Out of 
the void he created something unknown to beat all things known — to beat the lands- 
men, and the sailors, and the captains and the admirals of the earth. It was a 
glorious yacht — a mighty task. The boat is launched — she has gone down to the 
sea. She goes to Havre, and there meets our American captains. God bless them, 
they are fit and worthy to uphold the flag which floats over them. They said to him, 
" Stevens, we have not much credit at this great Fair ; for God's sake, keep her 
strong and make her right; for if we are beaten, we are entirely done." "Well, she 
goes to Cowes; there she meets seventy or eighty yachts, the pride of European 
labor, and the ornaments of the English aristocracy ; but he glanced at them with the 
eye of a mechanic, and the consciousness of the strength and power of his own glo- 
rious craft. On the 21st of August, the cup of all nations was offered to be run 
for by every species of craft in the world. You will remember that this was the 
signal of the great contest between America and Great Britain. They are gone — 
God speed the gallant bark — the prayers, the hopes, and the pride of the great na- 
tion were concentrated in the noble craft. — better that she should go down to the 
depth of the sea than bring shame or defeat upon the nation. The Ambassador 
from our country was on board a steamer, — the Queen of England, the gentle Queen 
was at the Needles, — it is night — then comes up a sail, I see her walking; yes, walk- 
ing in the waters, like a thing of life, — bright eyes are cast upon the flag — three cheers 
from the land — freemen man her — the victory is won — the name of the victorious 
craft is America, and her builder, (pointing to Mr. Steers,) stands here. (Applause.) 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 75 

The next toast was — " The American Ship Builders — The proud specimens of 
their skill float upon every sea, and in the race for fame they distance all competi- 
tors, and bear away the prize." Music — " Yankee Doodle." 

Mr. John Van Buren was called on by Mr. George Law, to respond, and said he 
must ask the President and the gentleman who called upon him to speak, to bear wit- 
ness to the company that he did not expect the honor of replying to this toast. It 
was a sentiment which few would be found ready to dispute. (Applause.) They all 
recollected the past triumphs, both in steam and sailing ships. They remembered 
the Oregon and what glory it added to New York. This was due to the enterprise 
of George Law, and who could forget what he had done by his sea-going steamers, 
the Georgia and Ohio ? (Applause.) They were indebted to another gentleman for 
the triumph of American steam-ships across the broad Atlantic. He alluded to Mr. 
Collins, whose line of steam-ships had humbled the pride of Britannia. (Applause.) 
But the distinguished guest of the evening had carried the triumph still further. — 
The British people had spent hundreds of years in constructing ships of this kind ; 
and when the little vessel sailed from this port which was to compete with the productions 
of such a maritime power, he confessed, notwithstanding his strong sanguine tempera- 
ment, he feared for the result. He recollected that the march of England was over 
the mountain waves, and that her home was on the deep. He, therefore, thought it 
was a most hazardous experiment to contest the power with her in her own home. 
Never did such overwhelming joy fill his heart as upon that occasion, when he heard 
of the success of the little American craft in British waters. He felt that it reflec- 
ted the highest credit upon the guest of the evening, and all concerned in the con- 
struction. Passing on from this topic, he might be permitted to say that the result 
was a remarkable illustration of the high intelligence of the mechanics of the coun- 
try, to whom is confided the national honor, and who are the source of our national 
wealth. It was by nautical skill that we would obtain an influence in controlling 
the affairs of the world, and ruling the destinies of mankind. (Cheers.) It was a 
peculiar characteristic of the mechanic, that he relied upon his own exertions for 
success. He was not active in legislative efforts — he was not powerful on the stump, 
and, in that respect, their distinguishment was as good an illustration as they could 
have. The eloquence of the mechanics consisted not in what they said, but in what 
they did. They spoke by their works. He concluded by proposing — " The mecha- 
nics of New York — the foremost in war, the last to feel the benefit of its protec- 
tion." 

The next toast was — " The merchant and mechanic — as each is necessary to the 
other's entire success, so may they glory in each other's triumphs and rewards." 
Music — " Life on the ocean wave." 

Mr. Simeon Draper responded, and said he rejoiced to find merchants and mecha- 
nics mingled together on this occasion. They had always co-operated together for 
the advancement of the nation's glory ; and the proudest feature of the American 
character, at home and abroad, was that they united in elevating the honor of the 
country. The merchants of New York honored the ship builders with a confidence 
attached to no other business under the sun, and this was long before the yacht 
America was built. There was no other mode of contract than this. When a mer- 
chant wanted a ship built, he sent for Brown or Dimon, and said he wanted a ship built, 
of a certain tonnage and description. The price was fixed, and all this was done 
without a scrap of writing, which is more than could be carried out in any other de- 
partment of life. (Applause.) He concluded with the following toast — " The Boy 
of the Shipyard — May he live long, and be prosperous and happy, and still further 
press onward to advance the flag of his native land." (Applause.) 

The Hutchinsons, who had been giving a concert overhead, here made their ap- 
pearance, and sang " the Great and Yankee Nation," and being encored, followed 
it up with " Three Crows in a Cornfield," to the great amusement of the audience. 



76 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

The fifth regular toast was then given as follows : — " The Shipowners of the 
Commercial Emporium. — Their usual liberality has been shown in their generous 
contributions to George Steers, as a testimonial of respect to mechanical skill." 
Music — " The Light House." 

Mr. Harrison responded as follows: — When called upon to respond to the 
sentiment just uttered, I must own that I felt myself entirely inadequate; but 
wishing at this time, and in this place, to express my sentiments in regard to the 
subject that calls us here this evening, I decided to depart from my custom, and 
say a few words in honor of that distinguished mechanic who has done so much to 
confer honor on our country abroad. Yes, gentlemen, I can truly and emphatically 
say, that George Steers has not only elevated himself, but that his masterly skill in 
modelling and building the America has conferred honor on all ; and as a merchant 
of New York, I take pleasure in tendering this testimonial of my appreciation of 
his talents. Mr. President, as I appear before you this evening as a merchant, 
perhaps it may not be improper for me to say that I, too, am a mechanic. Yes, 
gentlemen, at the age of thirteen, I was placed in a printing office in the town of 
Boston, where I served out my full time, and surely the apprenticeship should 
increase my regard for the mechanics of New York, so many of whom are present 
on this occasion, and for whom I entertain the most profound respect and regard. 
It is true, Mr. President, that the merchants of New York are entitled to the 
gratitude of the community for their enterprise, liberality, and public spirit ; but, I 
ask, what should we be without the aid of the mechanic ? Who is it that has 
modelled and built those splendid steamers and clipper ships, that are now exciting 
the admiration of the whole civilized world ? As a merchant, I answer that question 
by saying, the mechanics of New York ; yes, gentlemen, on the borders of the East 
river there is a class of men (mechanics though they were) who have conferred 
imperishable honor on our city ; and, for one, I trust that the time will come (if it 
has not already arrived) when the names of Bell, Brown, Webb, Westervelt, ami 
others, will stand before this community as they merit, and that we all shall owu 
that it is to their skill and perseverance that the fame of our mercantile marine has 
been elevated above that of any other nation on the face of the earth. 

The next toast was : — " The Constitution of the United States" — Like those who 
framed it, the mechanics and workmen of this city will hold good the pledge 
bequeathed them, and sacrifice their lives, if necessary, to keep that sacred pledge 
inviolate. Music — " The American Star." 

Mr. Thayer, Public Administrator, responded, and in the course of his 
observations he said the Yankees went over the waves to look for Great Britain, 
whose home was said to be on the deep, but they could not find her at home. 
(Applause.) 

Here a shindy was got up outside the door at the other end of the room, which 
attracted a large number of gentlemen, who ran out to see what it was. It turned 
out to be a fight between an Irishman, who was one of the attendants, ami a 
policeman, who was fairly beaten. The negroes, both men and women, mixed in 
the contest, and there was a general melee. Peace being at length restored, 

The seventh regular toast was given : — " The Pioneers of American Ocean Steam 
Navigation — may the broad stripes and bright stars ever shine to their protection." 
Music — " Hail Columbia." 

Mr. George Law responded — He adverted to the name of Henry Eckford on 
the wall, as the man who had constructed the American fleet on the lakes during 
the year 1812, and also to the name of Isaac Webb, as father of W. 11. Webb, who 
had built more steamers and ships than any other mau of the present age. Mr. L. 
then passed a eulogium on Mr. E. K. Collins, who, by days of toil, and nights of 
thought, had brought England within ten days of their shores. (Applause.) The 
smooth Pacific had done it in less than ten days. To the genius of the American 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 77 

mechanic this was due. This genius was not exhausted, but the means to give it 
scope were exhausted. If it only got fair play it would exceed as much what it has 
already achieved as it now excels other nations. Canning r in reference to the war 
of 1812, said that it would not end till the blow the English navy received should 
be smothered in victory. But the war ended, and that day never came. The result 
of that war did more to break down the boasted superiority of England than all 
other nations of the globe. To whom was this due ? To the mechanics, the navy 
officers, the sailors, and, above all, to the liberty they were now enjoying. It was 
that liberty that raised up such men as their guest. They commenced ocean steam 
in 1845, and in 1851 they beat the English in every passage. This was the land 
of freedom, where no foreign officer could set his foot and dictate whom we shall 
receive or not receive. It is the home of the emigrant — -the asylum of the exile. 
Here was the fulcrum on which rested the lever that would move the world. The 
boast that " Britannia rules the waves" was now idle — it was the last plank to which 
she clung — it was going from under her feet, and she would sink to rise no more. 
But the nation must give her generous support to the mechanics. If she did not, 
she would perhaps be beaten so far that she would never know day light again. 

3Ir. E. K. Collins said the little yacht America had done more to humble the 
pride of England than any thing else since the war of 1812. It was all very well 
to talk of intervention and non-intervention. He wanted our own country to take 
care of itself. Mr. Collins then adverted to the paucity of our vessels of war 
compared with those of France and England, and in allusion to the difficulties through 
which he had passed, said, Mr. Law would have acquitted himself with equal honor 
if he had been called upon to follow the same course. 

The next toast was : — " The memory of Robert Fulton — whose genius first 
applied steam to practical navigation/' Music — " Auld Lang Syne." 

The last toast was — "The Free Press — Beloved by the friends of libertj' — 
dreaded by tyrants." Music — " America." 

The company broke up about half past twelve o'clock. 



THE TRIUMPH OF THE AMERICA. 

Our Minister at Paris, Hon. TV. C. Rives, in the following patriotic effusion, 
being a letter addressed to Col. James Hamilton, at Cowes, participates heart and 
soul in the proud achievement of the Yacht of Yachts, the glorious little America. 
No true and genuine son of the Republic can peruse it without a glow of pride at 
the crowning triumph of the great meeting of nations in 1851. 

Boulogne-sur-mer, August 24t7i, 1851. 

My Dear Sir : — I congratulate you with my whole heart on the success of the 
gallant America in her contest with the Royal Yacht Squadron the day before yes- 
terday, the result of which has just been communicated to me here. 

When I had the pleasure of seeing you at Paris, I told you how much I felt our 
national honor and interests to be involved in the issue of any match the America 
might engage in at Cowes, and how much I relied on the sagacity, judgment and 
skill of Commodore Stevens, with his spirited and patriotic companions, to uphold 
the reputation of our glorious flag. The contest has now been decided ; and the 
America, and with her our American stars and stripes, have been once more victo- 
rious. And what a victory ! To beat Britannia, 

" Whose flag has braved a thousand years the battle and the breeze," 



78 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S PAIR. 

to beat her in her own native seas, in the presence of her Queen, and contending 
against a fleet of seventeen sail of her picked models of naval architecture, owned 
and personally directed by the proudest names of her nobility — her Marlboroughs 
and her Angleseys — is something that may well encourage us in the race of mari- 
time competition which is set before us. 

The destinies of the world in regard to civil and political liberty, and progressive 
civilization of every kind, must depend in a great degree upon that power which 
shall obtain a permanent ascendancy on the seas. Ever since the demonstrations of 
our naval aptitudes and prowess which the war of 1812 gave rise to, all eyes have 
been turned to America as a candidate for that great and glittering, and if rightly 
used, most noble prize. I have always said that our ships are our best representa- 
tives abroad, and Commodore Stevens and his brethren of the New York Yacht 
Club have shown how well they understand their mission. Honor and thanks to 
them, then, for having added another glorious day to our national calendar; for so 
highly do I estimate the importance, in its effect, direct and indirect, of their success- 
ful achievement of peaceful rivalry the day before yesterday, that the twenty-second 
of August is destined, in my opinion, to take rank in our annals with those days 
which have been rendered memorable by victories won at sea or on land, or have 
been otherwise endeared to us by associations connected with our national re- 
nown. 

And how opportunely has all this come to raise us up from the depressing effects 
of our supposed failure in the exhibition of the Crystal Palace — an arena in which 
I have always been inclined to question the policy of our appearance at this time in 
the character of competitors, as it was easily to be foreseen that objects of mere 
luxury and artistic elegance would be predominant there, in regard to which it was 
not to be expected that so young a people could contend on equal terms with the 
older and more luxurious nations of Eurrope. Shipbuilding and the arts of seaman- 
ship, however, with other pursuits of the useful and the original, belong to the bold 
and adventurous youth of our country, and I trust it is now demonstrated that in 
these we need not fear a comparison with the rest of the world. The arts of elegance 
will follow in their turn and in due season. In the mean time, we cannot cherish 
with too much pride and fondness that element of our national strength which, in 
the extraordinary mechanical improvements of the age, has become an indispensable 
means of security and self-defence, while it must, in the end, exercise a controlling 
influence upon the destinies of the civilized world! In this connection, I trust our 
legislators will not be unmindful of the high duty they are under, of giving an effec- 
tual encouragement and support to the noble enterprise that has been commenced, 
with such brilliant success, in your city, for vindicating our equal share in the navi- 
gation of the ocean between the Old and New World by steam ; and the whole na- 
tion will, I am sure, rise up and cheer the America by their joyous and spontaneous 
acclamations, (the only encouragement, happily, which she requires,) as soon as the 
news of her success shall reach our shores. 

I have not the pleasure of being personally known to Commodore Stevens, but I 
pray you to present my best respects to him, with my warmest thanks as an Ameri- 
can citizen, for the proud leaf he has added to the chaplet of our naval and national 
renown. 

Believe me, my dear sir, very truly and faithfully yours, 

W. C. Rives. 

Col. James Hamilton, at Cowes. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 79 

THE ROYAL YACHT CLUB, "IN A FIX." 

A NEW SONG TO AN OLD TUNE. 

" The following," says the New York Spirit of the Times, " is said to have been 
written by one of the ' forred ' hands on board the yacht * America,' to a friend of 
his here, and gives, we presume, an accurate, (as it certainly is a graphic) sketch 
of the events it describes : — " 

Come listen to my ditty, and a song to you I'll sing, 

Of four-and-twenty yachting boys — all anchored in a ring, 

It was the " Royal Yacht Club" — quinine of England's pride, 

And the pride of all the yachting clubs that ever hailed from Eyde. 

The " Champion Yacht of England," too, was there with banner spread, 
And on its folds "Alarm " appeared — a name creating dread — 
And near her lay another yacht — the beautiful Titania — 
The pride and boast of all who felt a pride in old Britannia. 

It happened there, one morning, as the sun was shining bright, 
A modest-looking schooner rig came " wing and wing" in sight; 
Where came she from, or what she was, not one of them could say, 
And no one thought so small a craft came from America. 

But on she came, as lightly as a bird upon the wing, 

And " rounding-to " as noiselessly, cast anchor in that ring. 

Her stern presents an Eagle-Spread — from starboard side to port — 

And that was all the ornament she bore of any sort. 

'Twas then " The Royal Yacht Club" began " to smell a rat ;" 

Some thought she was " some pumpkins" — some thought her more than that ; 

But interchange of visits soon made it clear as day, 

That this was brother Jonathan's own America. 

As soon as her arrival was in the papers read, 

A thousand boats of every size came pouring round Spithead ; 

The day was scarcely long enough to gratify the sight 

Of yeomen and of yachters who crowd the Isle of Wight. 

Our Commodore was silent, kept quiet as a mouse, 

'Till the Queen and all the royal folks should come to " Osborne House ;" 
And when Prince Albert came on board, our Captain took his stand, 
And gave an honest welcome, with an honest sailor's hand. 

Says he, my noble Prince, I suppose that horn and drum 
I heard this morn from Osborne House, proclaim your wife is come. 
In you and me, your Queen and mine, each boasts a faithful Squire ; 
You eall your yacht " Victoria," and I call mine " Maria." 

But this is not that yacht, good Prince, that you now stand upon — 
I left her snug at home, for friends to take their sailing fun ; 
This one was beat by that, one day, as easily as when 
This may be beaten by your club — [but not, perhaps, till then.) 

And now, good Prince, you're welcome, and if you're so inclined, 
We'll " drink good luck to both our Queens and all of womankind." 
The Prince was quite delighted with our noble Commodore, 
And together drank a bumper, and together went on shore. 

Now this was the beginning of the sport that followed on, 
And which I may relate to you before my song is done. 



80 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Breakfasts, dinners, suppers, from morn till late at night, 

Were now " the go," on sea, on shore, all round the Isle of Wight. 

And next our worthy Commodore a challenge did indite, 

A challenge frank, and bold, and fair, as any man could write; 

He told the noble Wilton he'd run his Yankee yacht 

'Gainst cutters, schooners, steamers — of size he cared not what. 

Says he, " My noble Lord, I ask one favor, if you please, 
Don't start me in a race, my Lord, unless it blows a breeze — 
A six-knot breeze, at least, my Lord, or else it is no test, 
Unless to show, not which can sail, but which will drift the best. 

" Now I don't care to win, my Lord, your money, but your cup, 
From which I shall be pleased to drink my cider when I sup ; 
But if the gold is wanted, I have on board a pile 
Of dust, as pure as ever came from " California's sile." 

His Lordship sent the challenge round to all the country wide, 

But none of all that Royal Club, from Portsmouth or from Ryde, 

Were found inclined to risk their yachts, or prove themselves such ninnies 

To lose not only name and rank, but perhaps their guineas. 

Some said " they didn't like the rig, the form, nor yet the looks 
Of this Yankee Doodle schooner, and her hidden keels and crooks ;" 
And some, more wise than others, said " she had an extra crew, 
To turn some hidden crank below, which turning, turned a screw." 

So the challenge went a begging along " proud Albion's shore," 
And if yachters didn't feel it, some real Jacks felt sore. 
Some said " the Royal Yacht Club was good at chicken pies," 
And others " d d their buttons," and others " d d their eyes." 

And said it was a pretty go for folks to come so far 

To meet the Royal Yacht Club, and find no British Tar, 

As is a man, to prove the truth of that old British stave, 

Which tells us, as it tells the world, " Britannia rules the wave." 



The yachting season 's over and we've had a lot of fun, 

And the cups and purses handed to the winners who have won ; 

The ladies pass and kiss their hands in token of adieu, • 

And all the cocks in coops about crow " Yankee Doodle doo-o-o .'" 

The stanzas omitted very graphically sketch the Royal visit, by " the Queen's 
own Majesty in person/' accompanied by the Royal children, and the bang-up style 
in which they were received on board, all of which being of a private nature, and 
belonging exclusively to the social relations of " Her Majesty" and " Our Commo- 
dore," are, with good taste, directed by the writer to be omitted in the jmblication. 
Suffice it to say, " the Queen was happy as a bird," " and the Commodore as spry 
as a boy." So run some of the lines. We suppose if the same honor had been ex- 
tended to one of her Majesty's own subjects, the " Times" would have detailed every 
event : not so with " our folks," for Halleck says of a real true " Yankee" — 

" He'd shake hands with the King upon his throne, 
And think it honor done his Majesty." 

We doubt if Her Majesty ever met, on any visit, (land or aquatic) a more accep- 
table reception. We no longer wonder now why all the cocks (and hens, too,) in 
coops about, crow — YANKEE DOODLE DOO-00 ! 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 81 

From the Cincinnati Gazette. 

A CHALLENGE. 

The card below is from one of our respectable citizens, who has just returned 
from the "World's Fair." He is able to make good the stake proposed. Let the 
John Bulls, official or unofficial, " face the music." 

CHALLENGE IN THE SUM OF TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. 

To the Editors of the "London Times" — the Commissioners of the London Fair, or 
others whom it may concern in Great Britain. 

As comparisons have been invidiously and insultingly made toward Americans, 
and their contributions, by the London Times, the organ of that factious clique who 
control the London Fair — 

I hereby challenge the Editors of the London Times — the Commissioners of the 
London Fair, or others whom it may concern, in Great Britain, in the sum of Ten 
Thousand Dollars, that they cannot find an Englishman — a British subject — who can 
equal in superiority of style, delicacy of execution, and perfection of workmanship, 
articles which were exhibited at the Mechanics' Institute, in Cincinnati, in 1842. 

I will take these articles, with the dust of nine years upon them, and place them 
against British ingenuity and skill. I seek to produce nothing new or particular 
for this occasion, and will expose to the world, without any further effort, the preju- 
dices, stupidity, and folly of those who control that Fair — and' I dare them to the 
trial. . 

These articles, which can be brought forward at a moment's notice, were made by 
an American citizen, in Cincinnati — one who has been a resident for almost one- 
third of the period since the white man felled the forest where this city stands. 

The winner of the ten thousand dollars must bind himself to appropriate the 
money to some benevolent institution or object in Europe or America. 

Twelve judges to be appointed, who must be approved practical mechanics — six 
from Europe and six from the United States. The decision of the majority to be 
final and binding. 

If this challenge be accepted, I will name the articles; for the present, I merely 
state that they are " out of the province of ragged utility." 

If this challenge be not accepted before the expiration of the Fair now being held 
in London, I will give, as a reward, the sum of One Thousand Dollars to any me- 
chanic in Europe whose workmanship, now exhibiting at the Crystal palace, will 
equal Cincinnati manufacture. 

Cincinnati, July 26, 1851. Samuel Lumsden. 

P. S. — Should " Bold Britons" (!) " feel shy" of an American mechanic — in the 
face of this challenge, and the swaggering folly and falsehood of the London Times 
— they can be accommodated. The challenger has no objection to meet any me- 
chanic of the more ingenious and skilful nations of Continental Europe. 

All communications addressed (pre-paid,) to Samuel Lumsden, of the firm of S. 
& W. Lumsden, Cincinnati, Ohio, will receive prompt attention. 



MARYLAND INSTITUTE. — B. F. PALMER ESQ. 

We take the following from the Baltimore American, and the Sun, being a record 
of an incident that occurred at the grand closing festival of the Maryland Institute's 

11 



82 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

Annual Exhibition, given in the spacious hall of the Institute in Baltimore last 

year : 

Beale H. Richardson, Esq., editor of the Argus, gave the following sentiment : 

The American Contributors to the World's Fair — They have elevated the char- 
acter of our country throughout the world, and made that name, which was once a 
reproach, the honored one of the earth. 

Wm. Prescott Smith, Esq., after reading some extracts from the London Times 
and " Punch," in reference to the American contributions in the World's Fair, gave 
a toast : 

B. Franklin Palmer — A public benefactor, and an inventor who has conferred 
honor upon his country at home and abroad. 

Mr. P. being loudly called for, rose and gave a very interesting relation of inci- 
dents connected with the great Fair of the Crystal Palace, having particular refer- 
ence to the American contributors, and the success which they met with. He spoke 
of the tardiness manifested by the English and by the other visitors of the Fair in 
acknowledging or admitting the possession of any degree of merit in the American- 
contributions. Unfortunately, he said the place allotted to America was at the end 
of the nave of the Palace, the Russian department being next, and for several weeks 
after the opening of the exhibition, contributions from that country not having ar- 
rived, operated in detracting very much from the interest of this section of the exhi- 
bition. Visitors would come down as far as Russia, find nothing in it, and as the 
English papers had all taken care to announce that " there was nothing to be seen 
in America," would uniformly turn and retrace their steps, thinking it only lost 
labor to come further. Thus matters stood for some time, until, finally, one day an 
adventurous Englishman had sufficient curiosity to overstep the boundary and come 
over to America ! (Great laughter, one of the company proposing to name this ad- 
venturous man the " English Christopher Columbus.") Well, continued the speaker, 
the discoveries made by this adventurer finally led to great results. He caught a 
glimpse of the great " reaping machine," and being at a loss to imagine what it 
could be intended for, brought the next day, several sage friends to examine the 
barbarous instrument. After various grave examinations, these wiseacres came to 
the conclusion that as for reaping with the machine it was out of the question, but 
with sundry proposed alterations it might make a flying machine. (Shouts of 
laughter.) But what, continued the speaker, was the astonishment of the English 
and the rest, of mankind in London, when this poor insignificant machine was taken 
out into the field and set at reaping ! Why, it not only cut down the grain after a 
fashion never seen before, but it mowed doion British prejudices, and opened the 
way for the bringing our countrymen and their contributions before the people in a 
proper light. There were seen more adventurers to America to inspect the collec- 
tion of the Yankees. Power's Greek Slave, that matchless production of art, which 
some of the English papers attempted to disparage, began to be admired, as it stood 
in the American collection, the personation of goodness and purity, beautiful as a 
white rose blooming amid the snows of Sweden !" (Loud applause, and three cheers 
given for the American sculptor.) 

Mr. Palmer here was called upon to give an account of his own success with his 
leg, and at the urgent solicitations of the company did so, having previously ex- 
pressed the hope that he should not be considered egotistical. 

He commenced by saying that whatever success he had met with, he felt and 
acknowledged to be mainly owing to the kind offices of his friends at home — not 
only so — but he was free to say that the u gold medal" awarded him for " his leg" 
at the last annual exhibition of the Maryland Institute, which he had carried with 
him to England had been a great instrument in opening his way to British notice. 
(Great Applause.) 



AMEBIC AN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 83 

lie succeeded in exhibiting his invention before the Royal College of Surgeons, 
and won from the most distinguished of that learned body highly flattering notice. 
He was presented to the old hero, the Marquis of Anglesea, by whom he was shown 
much attention. 

Mr. P. also spoke of the success of Mr. Hobbs, the great American locksmith, 
who created such a sensation in London by picking the famous •" Bramah lock." 
His remarks throughout were highly interesting, and we regret that we cannot give 
them entire. At the conclusion of his remarks he offered the following expressive 
sentiment, which was received with great enthusiasm and mirth : 

"John Bull and Brother Jonathan — The first shall be last and the last first." — 
Music : " Hail Columbia." 

During the course of the evening a number of other speeches were made and 
toasts offered, some of which were rare specimens of wit. 

Mr. Wallis was called out; and in concluding, gave the following, which was 
drunk with an avidity and a relish not easily described. 

" Yankee Doodle — It must become the quickstep of the world, when the conquer- 
ors of Waterloo cannot walk without at least one American leg." 

Mr. Palmer also offered the following : 

" The Limbs of the Law — We have this night been made to feel that they are 
the most important branches of the tree of Liberty and Science." 

This brought Mr. Wallis to his feet once more, when he replied by remarking, 
that " if they ever break, may they have a Palmer to mend them." 



THE RACE. 

Wilmer and Smith's European Times, in allusion to the race, remarks : 

The success of the new yacht, the America, which has. recently appeared at Cowes, 
has created a positive furore in England. She has beaten every thing, and borne 
away the laurels of victory from vessels on whose construction the greatest pains 
have been bestowed, on whose outfit thousands of pounds have been expended, and 
in whose success the owners felt necessarily a personal as well as a national pride. 

We are not sorry for this. It is one of those manly defeats which will leave no 
rankling feeling behind. If the Americans have lost caste at the Crystal Palace, 
they have secured triumphs on the waters of England, and while the result is 
calculated for the moment to abash us, it will realise the fine aphorism which Bulwer 
puts into the mouth of Richelieu — " There's no such word as fail!" Already, an 
English builder has thrown out a challenge to produce in ten weeks a yacht which 
shall compete with the star-spangled America ; but the challenge has been prudently 
declined, from a belief, doubtless, that another victory, with the experience which 
our builders now possess of what the America, constructed on a new and ingenious 
principle, can do, would be a matter of considerable uncertainty. A nautical writer, 
who addresses a morning contemporary, is inclined to attribute the success of the 
strange craft from the Western World, as much to her peculiar rigging and sails as 
to her general form. In all this we see the improvements brought out by competition. 
It sets the mind to work to account for given results. It establishes a principle: 
and as in the breeding of animals, so in the building of yachts, an enlarged experience 
produces the most complete and perfect thing of its kind which ingenuity and capital 
can attain. 

There are few of our national sports more noble and elevating in its nature than 
yachting. It is hardy and invigorating, with a sufficient dash of the adventurous 
in it to check the effeminacy which a superabundance of riches might otherwise 
cause. Our nobility and gentry, in the enjoyment of this noble sport, show that as 



84 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

islanders they may be said to be on tbeir natural clement, and the improvements 
of which yachts are capable can be readily extended, if it be even in a modified 
form, to the merchant marine. The Americans are our great rivals on the ocean , 
with spirit no way inferior to our own, and impelled by the highest feeling of 
ambition — not to be last in the race. It is unnecessary here to discuss the relative 
merits of English and American ship-building ; but it will hardly be denied, we 
presume, that the splendid specimens of American marine architecture which the 
docks of Liverpool exhibit, have influenced, in no inconsiderable degree, that 
improved style of British shipping with which of recent years every eye has been 
struck. 



AMERICA AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Notwithstanding the very inadequate representation of American industry at the 
World's Fair, the ingenuity of our countrymen commanded general admiration. At 
a dinner given to the American exhibitors, by George Peabody, the eminent 
American banker in London, Sir Henry L. Bulwer, (the English Minister at 
Washington) paid the following compliment to our nation : 

The idea of this Great Exhibition — an idea for which we are indebted to that 
eminent and illustrious prince who adds to his many other merits that of 
understanding the epoch in which he lives, and the country with which he is 
connected — the idea of this Great Exhibition, I say, was not, if I understand it 
rightly, merely that of bringing together the chairs and tables, the tapestry and 
jewelry, the works of art and the machinery ; but to collect, as it were, in one focus, 
the mind of the whole world, so that each nation might learn and appreciate the 
character and intelligence of the other ; and, if this be so, what is the place that 
men will assign, after receiving your productions, to the character and intelligence 
— that is to' say, to the mind — of America ? Why, gentlemen, they will say that, 
for all manly and practical purposes, its place is about the head of the poll. [Cheers.] 
Where, out of America shall we get a pistol like Mr. Colt's to kill our eight enemies 
in a second ; or a reaping machine like Mr. McCormick's to clear out twenty acres 
of wheat in a day ; or locks like those of Mr. Hobbs, which appear, after all, the 
only ones to which we can safely confide our secrets or our treasures ? Nor is this 
all, gentlemen. Go a little further, and we shall find a graceful and melancholy 
figure, which, while it fitly represents the charms and misfortunes of ancient Greece, 
exhibits at the same time the preeminent powers of sculpture, and the preeminent 
genius of Powers. [Great cheering.] And, gentlemen, whilst we are thus passing 
in review the productions in Hyde Park, what is that small speck which I see lightly 
skimming along the sea ? I think I recognize an old acquaintance; and sure enough, 
on the very day that I landed at Liverpool, I learned that little vessel which I had 
seen but lately sleeping quietly in the waters of New York, had, after gallantly 
crossing the great Atlantic, given the go-by to the whole of our yacht squadron ; 
and this, too, in our own waters, and before the very eyes of the sovereign whom we 
are sometimes proud enough to call the Queen of the Ocean. [Loud cheers.] 



AMERICAN STEAMERS. 

The following extract is from the Hon. Wm. H. Seward's (N. Y.) great speech 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 85 

iu the Senate of the United States, on the question of the extra compensation to the 
Collins' line of Ocean Steamers, delivered April 27, 1852, advocating the propriety, 
— indeed the necessity, in a national point of view — of liberal support to that noble 
enterprize : 

I conjure you to consider, moreover, that England, without waiting for, and I 
am sure, without expecting, so inglorious a retreat on our part, is completing a vast 
web of ocean steam navigation, based on postage and commerce, that will connect all 
the European ports, all our own ports, all the South American ports, all the ports in 
the West Indies, all the ports of Asia and Oceanica, with her great commercial capital. 
Thus the world is to become a great commercial system, ramified by a thousand 
nerves projecting from the one head at London. Yet, stupendous as the scheme is, 
our own merchants, conscious of equal capacity and equal resources, and relying on 
experience for success, are here beseeching us to allow them to counteract its ful- 
filment, and ask of us facilities and aid equal to those yielded by the British govern- 
ment to its citizens. While our commercial history is full of presages of a success- 
ful competition, Great Britain is sunk deep in debt. We are free from debt. 
Great Britain "is oppressed with armies and costly aristocratic institutions; industry 
among us is unfettered and free. But it is a contest depending not on armies, nor" 
even on wealth, but chiefly on invention and industry. And how stands the 
national account in those respects ? The cotton-gin, the planing machine, steam 
navigation, and electrical communication — these are old achievements. England 
only a year ago, invited the nations to bring their inventions and compare them to- 
gether in a palace of iron and glass. In all the devices for the increase of luxury 
and indulgence, America was surpassed, not only by refined England and by chiv- 
alrous France, but even by semi-barbarian Russia. Not until after all the mortifi- 
cation which such a result necessarily produced, did the comparison of utilitarian 
inventions begin. Then our countrymen exhibited Dick's anti-friction press — a 
machine that raised a power greater by 240 tons than could be raised by the 
Bramah hydraulic press, which, having been used by Sir John Stevenson in erecting 
the tubular bridge over the straits of Menai, had been brought forward by the British 
artisans as a contrivance of unrivalled merit for the generation of direct power. 

Next was submitted, on our behalf, the two inventions of St. John, the variation 
compass, which indicates the deflection of its own needle at any place, resulting from 
local causes ; and the velocimeter, which tells, at any time, the actual speed of the 
vessel bearing it, and its distance from the spot of departure — inventions adopted 
at once by the admiralty of Great Britain. Then, to say nothing of the ingeniously 
constructed locks invented by Hobbs, which defied the skill of the British artisans, 
while he opened all of theirs at pleasure ; there was Bigelow's power loom, which 
has brought down ingrain and Brussels carpets within the reach of the British me- 
chanic and farmer. While the American ploughs took precedence of all others, Mc 
Cormick's reaper was acknowledged to be a contribution to the agriculture of 
England, surpassing in value the cost of the Crystal Palace. Nor were we dis- 
honored in the fine arts ; for a well-deserved meed was awarded to Hughes for his 
successful incorporation in marble of the ideal Oliver Twist, and the palm was con- 
ferred on Power for his immortal statue of the Greek Slave. When these successes 
had turned away the tide of derision from our country, the yacht America entered 
the British Channel. Skilful architects saw that she combined, in before unknown 
proportions, the elements of grace and motion, and her modest challenge was reluct- 
antly accepted, and even then only for a tenth part of the prize she proposed. The 
trial was graced by the presence of the Queen and her court, and watched with an 
interest created by national pride and ambition ; and yet the triumph was complete. 

In the very hour of this of itself conclusive demonstration of American superi- 
ority in utilitarian inventions, and in the art " that leads to nautical dominion/' a 



86 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

further and irresistible confirmation was given by the arrival of the American clip- 
pers from India, freighted, at advanced rates with shipments, consigned by the 
agents of the East India Company at Calcutta to their own warehouses in London. 
Such and so recent are the proofs that, in the capital element of invention, we are 
equal to the contest for the supremacy of the seas. When I consider them, and con- 
sider our resources, of which those of Pennsylvania, or of the valley of the Missis- 
sippi, or of California, alone exceed the entire native wealth of Great Britain ; when 
I consider, moreover,, our yet unelicited manufacturing capacity — our great popu- 
lation, already nearly equal to that of the British islands, and multiplying, at a 
rate unknown in human progress, by accessions from both of the old continents ; 
when I consider the advantages of our geographical position midway between them ; 
and when I consider, above all, the expanding and elevating influence of freedom 
upon the genius of our people, I feel quite assured that their enterprise will be ad- 
equate to the glorious conflict, if it be only sustained by constancy and perseverance 
on the part of their government. I do not know that we shall prevail in that con- 
flict ; but for myself, like the modest hero who was instructed to charge on the ar- 
tillery at Niagara, I can say that we " will try j M and that when a difficulty occurs 
no greater than that which meets us now, my motto shall be the words of the 
dying commander of the Chesapeake — " Don't give up the ship." 



VULCANIZED INDIA RUBBER. 

We subjoin an article conceived in a mingled vein of pleasantry and seriousness, 
which produced a considerable sensation, when it appeared in the columns of the 
London Illustrated News : 

Most people have had occasion, at one time or another, to complain of suffering 
produced by the mal-construction of boots or shoes; we cannot but rejoice, therefore, 
in the announcement, that, according to all probability, a new era for the feet is 
about to dawn, and such sufferings to become as rare and exceptional as they now 
are general and abundant. The present Exhibition of Industry offers ample grounds 
on which we justify this hopeful anticipation. It is an old and popular adage, that 
there is "nothing like leather :" this we are perfectly prepared to admit, and at the 
same time to assert an equally popular fact, that there is something very unlike 
leather, possessing one great property in which leather, as we most of us know to our 
cost, is too often painfully deficient. This property is elasticity, and we need scarcely 
add that the substance we allude to is India-rubber. 

That the combination of this valuable gum with the ancient and time-honored 
material, is the grand feature of modern progress in the art of boot and shoe making, 
will speedily become apparent in one review of the articles exhibited in that 
department. Its importance will be, perhaps, still more fairly appreciated, from the 
consideration that, by its agency, boots and shoes of the cheapest and commonest 
manufacture, may be made as pleasant and easy to the feet, as those costly specimens 
of ingenious and studied workmanship hitherto attainable only by the wealthier 
class. Not only does the introduction of elastic textures into the construction of 
coverings for the feet remove all undue pressure, allow the free and natural play of 
the muscles, and avoid much wear and disagreeable effort and annoyance in getting 
shoes on and off; not only does it do away with the risk of corns and bunions, the 
cure of which has sprung into an actual profession, but it, abolishes all the cumbrous 
and fragile machinery of laces, strings, buttons, buckles, &c, and renders a boot or 
a walking-shoe as easy to don as a slipper or stocking — an advantage by no means 
likely to be underrated by a foot-sore public. That such an innovating invention 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 87 

should neither be brought to perfection at once, nor meet with the immediate 
popularity -and patronage it deserves, is not wonderful, when we consider the slow 
progress of all reforms in established forms, whether material, social, or political. 
But that it deserves attention and recommendation, as an alleviation of one of the 
most wide-spread and troublesome of the smaller evils which flesh is heir to, none 
can, we imagine, deny. At the same time, it is highly desirable that boot and shoe 
makers, generally, should turn more serious attention to the anatomy and natural 
requirements of the foot, and particularly reform the detestable practice of making 
the sole too narrow, pinching it on the inner extremity, contrary to the natural shape 
of the foot, according to which the great toe is far from deflecting as they dictate, 
the fact being that the inner side of the foot requires nearly a straight line to 
determine its outline. On this point we took the opinion of an eminent sculptor. 
Any one may, however, satisfy himself by placing his foot on a sheet of paper, and 
carefully tracing its outline with a pencil. Though it must be remembered that the 
constant practice of wearing shoes, such as are generally sold (or rather mis-soled, 
if jesting be permissible on such a grave subject), will actually modify the proper 
shape of the foot by habitual distortion. The contrast between the real form of the 
foot, and some boots and shoes is positively ludicrous. Another fault of which 
almost every body complains is want of height in the instep. This causes exquisite 
pain, and is one of the accidents which India-rubber is specially calculated to remedy. 
India-rubber will also render it much easier to get a ready made fit ; indeed, when 
its application is perfected, it will be as safe to send for a pair of boots or shoes by 
giving the number of the size, as it would now be imprudent. The majority will 
always buy their shoes ready made, therefore this is no small recommendation. 

We have reserved to the last the mention of the extraordinary American shoes 
made entirely of vulcanized India-rubber, under Goodyear' s patent. These are 
brought to a very high degree of perfection, the soles being made rough to prevent 
slipping, and a polish being given by heat, without any extraneous substance. They 
can be made very cheaply ; indeed, we were surprised to learn how low is their 
wholesale price, considering that which is asked for similar articles in the shops. 
By a recent and most ingenious invention, the upper leathers, if we may be excused 
for so Irish a phrase, can be perforated with minute holes, so as to allow perfectly 
free ventilation, the want of which has hitherto prevented shoes of India-rubber 
from coming into general use. Heat does not affect them, and there is every reason 
to believe that the consumption will soon be as great as the manufacture of the 
article is simple, economical, and expeditious. For such a climate as ours they are 
invaluable. 



YANKEE SKILL ON LAND AND SEA. 

The following amusing account of our experience, in the contest for superiority at 
the World's Exhibition, is from the Boston " Evening Transcript." It reminds us 
of a wise remark, once made by Sam Slick, to this effect : "Never tell folks you can 
go ahead on 'em, but do it:" — 

There is an old French proverb, that those laugh best who laugh last. The truth 
of it is likely to be demonstrated in the intercourse of the last six months, between 
"John Bull" and his repudiated offspring, "Brother Jonathan." Because the lat- 
ter did not fill up the space allotted to him in the Crystal Palace with all sorts of 
showy contrivances and ornaments — with silks and satins and splendid cloths — with 
costly articles of furniture, and articles ministering solely to the luxurious tastes of 
the opulent — our plain Brother Jonathan, in his suit of homespun, was laughed at, 



88 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

pointed at, and jeered at, till he himself began to distrust his own merits, and to 
think of getting back to his own folks, there to own up to being beaten, hide his 
diminished head and lay low. 

But while Jonathan was sitting disconsolate in the midst of his " traps," in the 
Glass Palace, and wishing that he had had nothing to do with his father Bull's in- 
vitation to all the nations of the world, to come over and compete with one auothcr 
in their "fixins"and "notions," Jonathan happened to take a newspaper, and 
learned that one of his Collins' steamers had made a passage beating the best of Bull's 
line out and out. Jonathan slapped his leg, and stroked it up and down, and his 
face brightened as he read. He resolved to stay a while longer, just to see what 
might turn up. His eye fell on some of the machines in his agricultural depart- 
ment. "What's the good," he grumbled to himself, "of those thunderin' old 
things, if people don't know how they'll work ? Now here's McCormick's reaping 

machine. May I be no, I don't swear — but I can take my affidavit, that 

I have seen this machine do the work of ten men, in a given time. If the old man 
could see it going over his fields of rye, I rather think he'd stare some. He shall 
see it! I'll stump him to see it !" 

Mr. McCormick's machine was accordingly trundled out, and put in operation in one 
of Mr. Mechi's rye fields, at a great agricultural gathering, and admitted to be a 
" dead hit." The natives were astonished. McCormick's patent became at once 
worth a fortune to him, and one of the first-class prizes of the Exhibition was set 
down for him by the judges. 

Brother Jonathan put on a new dickey, brushed his hat, and walked through Re- 
gent's Park, with his head considerably higher than he had worn it the year before. 
Dropping into one of the club houses with that elegantly negligent air for which he 
is noted, he took up a French paper, and read an article, from the pen of one of the 
most distinguished of contemporary critics, in which it was elegantly maintained 
that the first work in the highest department of art, in the Exhibition, was the 
Greek Slave, by Hiram Power. " One of my boys !" exclaimed Jonathan, throw- 
ing down the paper, and starting up in a manner to shock the sensibilities of a cosy 
old gentleman and two life guardsmen who sat near. 

While Brother Jonathan was recovering from his depression of spirits, under 
which he had been laboring at the commencement of the Exhibition, he woke up 
one morning to learn that another of his " boys," had, unknown to himself, come 
over the big pond and challenged John Bull, and all creation besides, to a sailing 
match, planking his $50,000 like a man, and begging somebody to win it- 
Jonathan felt a little nervous at this. If there was any thing that Bull prided 
himself on, it was the superior sailing qualities of his yachts. Other folks might 
produce better painters and sculptors, but better shipbuilders — never. " It will be 
pricking the old man between the joints of his armor," said Jonathan, "to outsail 
his yachts! I'm half afraid we can't come it. It's a wild scheme, and mad scheme, 
and it's a pity to throw away a cool fifty thousand dollars. However, the boy is in 
for it, and he must face it out like a man. He musn't show the white feather now. 
I could give him a thrashing for not letting me into his secret, but seeing as we are 
here together, I'll do the handsome thing, clap him on the back, and help him out 
in funds if he has bragged too deep." 

It was a great day in Cowes. John Bull and all his family were present in their 
best. Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and the children, lords and ladies, dukes and 
marquises, admirals and captains, authors and editors, every body, in short, who 
was any body. Verbum sat, &c. 

A Western man says that on hearing Yankee Doodle performed on an organ in 
the Crystal Palace, he felt the Declaration of Independence and a couple of Bunker 
Hills rising up in his bosom. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 89 



AMEEICA LOOKING UP OVEE THE WEST. 

The following extract from an editorial of the Liverpool Times of August 27th, 
1851, shows that the position of our country is becoming appreciated, and its great- 
ness more clearly admitted from year to year : 

"Civilization, as we have often said, has hitherto been geographical. The mer- 
chant followed trade, and where the merchant opened his counting house, religion 
and science and morals set up their altars. 

The United States of America now occupy that place on the globe which 
presents commercial advantages unknown to all ancient and contemporary na- 
tions. 

The territories of the trans- Atlantic republic expand into two worlds; and she 
reposes between the two oceans, one washing Asia, the other Europe. Her fields 
teem with plenty ; her mines are inexhaustible, while her rivers obviate canals, and 
tempt trade and manufacturers into activity, thousands of miles from the Atlantic 
and Pacific. Nothing was wanted to the local enthronement of civilization but apti- 
tude in the inhabitants, and the history of the past week gives ample testimony to 
its abundant existence. 

In practical science we admitted no rivalry for more than a century : in trade, we 
despised competition ; and since the haughty Hollander swept the Thames, we 
claimed indisputably the sovereignty of the seas. Eor some time, however, the 
Yankees have been quietly encroaching on our maritime privilege — not pushing us 
from the element whereon our pride flung out the cross of St. George, but gradually 
creeping into an incidental equality. 

They did this not through accident or by favor, but by the rigid application of great 
principles of commerce and science. They have compared with ourselves, being 
equally enterprizing. They have been more skilful ; and while we pay willing 
homage to genius, in whomsoever manifested, it is a mortification that in our own 
waters an American yacht won the prize of all nations, and that an American steamer 
accomplished the quickest passage ever made across the Atlantic. 

The Yankees are no longer to be ridiculed, much less despised. The new world 
is bursting into greatness — walking past the old world, as the America did the, 
yachts at Cowes, 'hand over hand.' She dipped the Star-Spangled Banner to the 
royalty of Great Britain, for superiority is ever courteous, and this grateful act indi- 
cates the direction in which our inevitable competition should proceed. America, in 
her own phrase, is 'going ahead/ and will assuredly pass us unless we accelerate 
our speed." 



Erom the New Haven Palladium. 

THE YACHT AMEEICA, IN PARLIAMENT. 

Colonel Peel, in a recent discussion on the Navy estimates, in the British House 
of Commons, took occasion to express his surprise that not one word had been said 
in reference to the circumstance of a foreign yacht having come to England, and, 
in the presence of the Queen herself, beaten some of the crack English sailing- 
vessels. That, Colonel Peel said, appeared to him a deeply humiliating event. 
She was an American yacht, and she was described as " the race-horse of the 
ocean." Colonel Peel confessed that he was wholly ignorant of nautical matters, 
although he was conversant with the pastime of horse racing, and he flattered 
himself that he could appreciate such an expression as " the blue ribbon of the 

12 



90 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Turf," as used by Mr. D'Israeli. Whatever might be the sailing qualities of the 
American yacht, Colonel Peel declared that if such a defeat had been sustained by 
the English sailing vessels at the Isle of Wight, there was not a true sportsman in 
England who would not go to any expense to recover back the lost laurels. Colonel 
Peel stated that it was part of his creed that " Britannia rules the waves," but what 
became of the goddess on the day to which he had alluded, he could not say, but if 
she " ruled the waves" at all on that occasion, she must surely have done so with a 
downcast look ! — Colonel Peel's remarks were received with cries of " hear, hear !" 



Correspondence of the New York State Register. 

ANOTHER TRIUMPH OF AMERICAN INGENUITY. 

New York, November 11, 1851. 

Recent advices from England inform us that American ingenuity achieved another 
triumph in the failure of Mr. Garbutts (a celebrated English mechanic, and a 
proficient at lock picking) to pick the Newell Parautoptic Bank Lock, after an 
uninterrupted trial of thirty days. Mr. Hobbs, the accredited agent of Messrs. Day 
and Newell, of 589 Broadway, New York, after having picked all the best English 
locks (Bramah's and Chubb's), and pocketed two hundred guineas in British gold 
as his reward, then challenged all Europe to atrial of skill upon his Newell Parautoptic, 
offering $1,000 as a reward to the person who should succeed in picking it. Mr. 
Garbutts accepted the challenge, and after having tried thirty days, admitted that the 
" obstinate Yankee bolt" was impregnable. Mr. Hobbs, too, gave him every possible 
facility to work advantageously, having placed in his hands the lock to be operated 
upon, for examination, as long as he wished, and afterwards gave him a duplicate 
to further aid him ; and yet, with all these surprising advantages added to the stimulus 
of his national pride, and the hope of carrying off $1,000 in gold, the thirty days 
expired, and, as Mr. Hobbs quaintly remarked, " the Yankee bolt still stuck out." 
When Mr. Hobbs picked the Bramah and Chubb locks, he had not examined the 
inside of them, and had had no such favor shown him as he had given to Mr. Garbutts, 
but had no difficulty in demonstrating their entire insecurity. 

The Newell Parautoptic is now the champion lock of the world, and as such has 
received the prize medal at the World's Fair, accompanied by the following flattering 
declaration from the Jurors who awarded it : — " That, notwithstanding the prize in 
question was the highest gift in Class XXIII (their class), they could not in justice 
tender it to Messrs. Day and Newell, of the United States of America without adding 
that their highest premium was given with the special approbation of the whole 
class ; that it had not been overrated by the Queen of Great Britain, Prince Albert, 
and the Duke of Wellington, when they exclaimed that ' the great American lock 
had no rival for mechanical skill and the security it afforded, in the whole area of 
the Crystal Palace !' " 

Mr. Hobbs has since placed the Newell Parautoptic Lock on the Bank of England, 
and is at present negotiating to place them on all the Government institutions 
instead of the Chubb and Bramah locks. No doubt he will succeed in doing so, and 
then Great Britain will have admitted to the whole world, that none other than a 
" live yankee" could give the desired perfect security for their gold and government 
records. The Newell Parautoptic is the only lock at the World's Fair submitted to 
the test of burglars and others that was not successfully picked. Messrs. Day and 
Newell, we learn, have already had heavy orders for their locks for the English 
market, and have shipped large numbers of them to Mr. Hobbs. 

These gentlemen, it should be further stated, were the recipients of a gold medal 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S PAIR. 91 

for their Parautoptic Lock, at the late Fair of the American Institute in New York, 
and when we reflect upon all their triumphs, both at home and abroad, and the fame 
they have given to American ingenuity, we are certain that every lover of his 
country must exult at their prosperity. Perhaps the best conclusion we can give to 
this matter is to say, that in claiming the championship of the world, Messrs. D. 
and N. invite the attention of persons wanting bank locks, to their standing challenge 
of $1,000 to any one who will pick their lock, with a view to prove whether they 
are entitled to this supremacy. 



FACETIJl. 

John Bull, as all the world knows, although excessively vain, — the result of his 
success in arts and arms for centuries,— is at bottom a true-hearted fellow, and 
takes a beating with as much good humour as any one. The following facetious re- 
marks, on his coming off second best in his conflict with Brother Jonathan, at the 
World's Fair, are from his own pen, — or rather from that of his wayward and most 
gifted child, Punch, the incomparable : 

THE LAST APPENDIX TO " YANKEE DOODLE." 

Yankee Doodle sent to town A steamer of the Collins line, 

His goods for exhibition ; A Yankee Doodle notion, 

Every body ran him down, Has also quickest cut the brine 

And laughed at his position ; Across the Atlantic ocean. 

They thought him all the world behind And British agents, noways slow 

A goney, muff, or noodle . Her merits to discover, 

Laugh on, good people — never mind — Have been and bought her — just to tow 

Says quiet Yankee Doodle. The Cunard packets over; 

Chorus — Yankee Doodle, &c. Chorus — Yankee Doodle, &c. 

Yankee Doodle had a craft, Your gunsmiths of their skill may crack, 

A rather tidy clipper, But that again don't mention ; 

And he challenged while they laughed, I guess that Colt's revolvers whack 

The Britishers to whip her. Their very first invention. 

Their whole yacht squadron she outsped, By Yankee Doodle, too, you're beat 

And that on their own water , Downright in Agriculture, 

Of all the lot she went ahead, With his machine for reaping wheat, 

And they came nowhere arter. Chaw'd up as by a vulture. 

Chorus — Yankee Doodle, &c. Chorus — Yankee Doodle, &c. 

O'er Panama there was a scheme You also fancied, in your pride, 

Long talked of, to pursue a Which truly is tarnation, 

Short route — which many thought a dream, Them British locks of yourn defied 
. By Lake Nicaragua. The rogues of all creation. 

John Bull discussed the plan on foot, But Chubb's and Bramah'sHobbs haspick'd, 

With slow irresolution, And you must now be viewed all 

While Yankee Doodle went and put As having been completely licked 
It into execution. By glorious Yankee Doodle. 

Chorus — Yankee Doodle, &c. Chorus — Yankee Doodle, &c. 



92 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

Agricultural Intelligence. — "Master 'Punch' : 'Tis all very well to talk o 
the Mericans woppon we wi their reapun masheen. I'm hound to say that ar a one 
o' my men as you'd like me to bring forrad, will beat their new fangled invensbun 
any day wi a hook. Your sarvunt to cumand, 

Bumpkin. 

Timber for Sale. — A great quantity of Planks, Sticks, Masts, and Spars, to 
be had cheap. — Inquire at the Iloyal Yacht Club House, Cowes. 

One Good Turn deserves another. — The " America" is said to have won 
the race at Cowes, thanks to her " superior rigging." Now as America was finely 
rigged by England for being so far behind every other race at the Great Exhibition, 
so England must not feel angry, after having been fairly beaten in a naval race, if 
she is made to feel in her turn the smartness of America's rigging. 

From an Anglo-Maniacal French Paper. 

A Nation of Shopkeepers. — " Is it not enough to make the sword leap out of 
every Frenchman's scabbard when he witnesses the corrupting influences of England's 
gold ? Will it be believed, that within the last week — and we can state it as a pos- 
itive fact — that America has been purchased — yes, vilely purchased — by ' Perfidious 
Albion ?' How the spirit of Washington will gibber, when he is told that his dar- 
ling America has passed into the hands of an Englishman, for the miserable sum 
of £7,000. 

The Pick of the Exhibition. — Since Mr. Hobbs has succeeded in picking 
Chubb's locks, we have not been able to sleep. We have been tortured with one 
great fear, which, as loyal subjects, has robbed us of rest, peace, appetite, every 
thing. It is perfectly well known that a certain Diamond, as big as a walnut, is 
confined in a " safe," (the word seems to mock us,) which is secured by a lock, or 
a spring, or something of that sort, which has been manufactured by Chubb — but 
Chubb offers no impediment to the burglarious skill of Hobbs. Therefore, in an 
agony of anxiety — for while we are asking the question the very thing may have 
gone — we put it to the Royal Commissioners — we ask the nation the following tre- 
mendous question : "Is the Koh-i-noor safe ?" 

The Long Vacation. —The Long Vacation will shortly commence at Cowes, 
for it has been observed that most of the English yachts are already breaking up. 

A Challenge to Mr. Hobbs. — " Sir — Mr. Punch — Old Fellow. — Will you be 
kind enough to print my challenge to Mr. Hobbs ? — 

" I challenge him to open a lock — for £500 a side — or £50 — or a box of cigars 
— or a dinner for a dozen — or any thing he pleases. — It isn't the money I want, 
but merely the principle of the thing — I am so confident of winning. 

" Mr. Hobbs boasts of having opened a Bramah's lock with twenty tumblers ! 

" This was done in the day-time. Can he do as much at night ? 

" I don't want to boast, old 'Punch,' but I mean to say that I have been in the 
habit, for the last three years, after going home from the Coal Hole, or Cider Cel- 
lars, of opening a lock — a patent Chubb — with at least twenty-five tumblers ! — 
tumblers of gin-and-water ! — hot ! ! — mind you — and this I have done, not with a 
set of instruments, but with a simple latch-key ! and I am proud to say my hand 
has never failed me once ! 

" Now, my dear Boy, if Mr. Hobbs will undertake to do as much for three con- 
secutive years, I will promise to pay him the £500 — or the £50 — or the box of cigars 
— or the dinner for a dozen — or any thing he pleases — in the event of his being 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 93 

the winner, which I doubt very strongly ; for very few men, I natter myself, are 
equal to the task of opening a lock with five-and-twenty tumblers of hot gin-and- 
water ! 

This is a fair challenge. In proof of which I have the pleasure of subscribing 
myself, to the extent of three-pence every week. 

" Your constant admirer, Felix Fastboy, D. D. 

u I and my money — or my dinner — or my cigars — as the case may be — are to be 
heard of at any time, between the hours of 4 and 12, at the Albion, and afterwards, 
first at the Cider Cellars, and then at the Coal Hole." 

America vs. England. — There is no hope for poor old England ; for America 
seems to be running fairly ahead of us. She beats us on the seas, as far as speed 
is concerned ; and we now are to have a race-horse from America who is to win the next 
year's Derby, as a matter of the merest (Epsom) course. An American comes over 
and picks our locks ; and we dare say every reward that is ever offered, hence- 
forth, for any thing in England, will be carried off by our big brother Jonathan. 
We really must look about us a little, if we do not wish to be utterly eclipsed by 
the stars and flogged by the stripes of America. We are afraid John Bull is a little 
self-sufficient at times, and a wholesome rub on that very tender point — his vanity 
— will have a very beneficial effect. We are not, however, quite disposed to allow the 
Yankees, yet, all the superiority they claim ; and we are not much disturbed in our 
mind by anticipations of the result of the Derby Day, for we fully believe that the 
American horse which is to beat in the field resides in some mare's nest or other which 
will never be found. 

The following beats ". cutting the waves with her taffrail," in Cooper's " Red 
Rover :" 

Why did the " America" beat us ? — As numbers of our contemporaries have 
given accounts, more or less scientific, of the build of the " America" yacht, and 
the causes of her superiority to our own vessels, we have the pleasure of laying be- 
fore our nautical readers the following letter of Captain Nelson Collingwood Saint 
Yincent Smith, of the Royal Navy, with whose reputation for gallantry, as well as 
for science every person is acquainted : 

Sheerness, Sept. 6, 1851. 

My dear Admiral. — That the Yankee has beaten us is perfectly clear. I have 
never seen a more complete beating since the day when on board the old " Borys- 
thenes" we took the " Maravedi," 74, in Tapioca Bay. Neither of us, nor any of 
the survivors, are likely to forget that day. The next best thing to conquering we 
have done onthis occasion — we have taken our thrashing with perfect good humour. 
No men were ever whapped who bore so little malice as the Cowes gentlemen. 

But I suppose they don't intend to be thrashed again. Sameness tires, as they 
say. Let us see how to prevent this sameness, for the future. 

I have gone over every inch of the " America," from athwart her hause to the 
utmost shiver of her timbers. You have but to compare her gannets and trunnions 
with those in use by our ship-builders, and to see what an immense advantage in a 
six-knot breeze, at N. S. by S., she must have. Her clewlines are 28 feet by 11, 
while ours are of the ordinary register of 13 to the dozen. Any schooner so rigged 
(let alone cutters,) must clear the water line with her log, and so get an advantage 
of a common buff-rigged boat, whatever may be the pressuz - e of her scuppers. The 
old " Catawampus" was so constructed ; it was notorious in every dock-yard in the 
Queen's dominions, that this build was the only one possible in a trade-wind; and, 
of course, in consequence, it was thrown out by the Admiralty. It wouldn't suit 
the patronage of my Lords to build vessels like the " Catawampus." 

Look at our halyards, and then go and look at the " America's" spanker-boom! 



94 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Our gaffs are brass, whilst her's are India-rubber. Every incb of canvas in her 
cuddy is as taut as a deal-table ; to reef the commonest caboose in an English yacht 
takes 79 seconds, while her parabola is never calculated under an hour. 

" How could we expect, under such circumstances, that the issue should have 
been otherwise than as it turned out ? 

" Always, my dear Admiral, truly yours, 

" Nelson Collingwood Saint Vincent Smith." 



From the New York Herald. Dec. 1, 1851. 

NAVAL BANQUET TO THE OFFICERS OF THE 
FRIGATE ST. LAWRENCE. 

On Saturday evening, a grand banquet was given at the Astor House, by the 
Common Council of New York to Captain Sands, commander, and the officers of the 
frigate St. Lawrence, which conveyed the American produce to the World's Fair. 
It was in every respect a compliment, and tendered with American hospitality, and 
demonstrated with American enthusiasm. The dinner was such as we have often" 
had occasion to commend, and reflects much credit upon Coleman and Stetson as 
caterers both of viands and wines. The ornamental confectionary were a Washing- 
ton Monument, Temple of Liberty, Commerce, ship Constitution, Gothic Pyramid, 
American Pavilion, and Union Temple. In the front of the Chairman was a repre- 
sentation of the Southampton Lighthouse, and the frigate St. Lawrence, and two 
other vessels at sea. 

Alderman Sturtevant presided in the absence of the Mayor. 

The company sat down to dinner at a little after seven o'clock. Amongst those 
present, we noticed nearly all the members of the Common Council, and a brilliant 
array of naval and military officers in their rich uniforms. Amongst the officers 
present were Merchant, U. S. A., Delafield, U. S. A., Graham, U. S. A., Briggs, 
U. S. N., Drum, U. S. N., Carpender, U. S. N. The bench, too, was well repre- 
sented, the following members of the judiciary being present : — Chief Justice Oak- 
ley and Judges Sandford, Campbell, Mason, Daly, Woodruff, Paine, and the Re- 
corder. The bar was represented by Mr. Ogden Hoffman, Mr. Gerard, General 
Sandford, Mr. Hall (Assistant District Attorney), Mr. L. R. Marsh and several others 
of the legal profession-. Amongst the clergy were the amiable Father Cummings, 
of the Roman Catholic church, and in close proximity, the Rev. Mr. Dowling, of 
the Baptist church — author of " Dowling's History of Romanism, illustrated with 
plates." Dodworth's excellent band was in attendance, and discoursed most elo- 
quent music. The members of the press were well taken care of, and are much in- 
debted to the courtesy of Mr. Charles Burdett, of the Mayor's office, for the accom- 
modation afforded them. 

Captain Sands sat on the right of the Chairman, and when the cloth was removed, 
the first toast given was — " The President of the United States," which was received 
with immense applause and three times three. 

Hon. Hugh Maxwell, being loudly called on, rose and said, he was quite un- 
prepared to make an address such as the occasion required. It was only within an 
hour that he knew that he was to be honored with an invitation to this dinner. 
He, however, made some remarks complimentary to the navy. 

The second toast was " Our guests, Commander Sands and the officers of the 
frigate St. Lawrence." 

Capt. Sands responded. He said — Mr. President and gentlemen of the Corpo- 
ration of the City of New York — That the return of the St. Lawrence to your city 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 95 

from her late voyage to England, should be marked by so special an evidence of 
your kindly feeling and regard as evinced by this splendid entertaiment, is to her 
commander and officers most flattering, and we feel the compliment as more attribut- 
able to your partiality for the Navy at large than any merit due ourselves. (Ap- 
plause.) The ready consent of the President, that a national vessel should convey 
the products of our country's industry and art to the great World's fair, was pleasing 
to all interested ; and with alacrity the head of the Navy Department dispatched 
the St. Lawrence to Southampton, as requested by the authorities of that ancient 
and honorable borough. Warm and hearty were the greetings on her arrival. The 
corporation and citizens all seemed to vie in showing kindness to us and appreci- 
ation of our mission, as a friendly contest for the palms of peace, not with any 
single nation, but with the whole world. (Cheers.) As to results, we need only 
say that on the harvest field we reaped the golden prize ; on the ocean " ilk ferat 
palman qui meruit." Among many pleasing circumstances connected with our 
mission, was the meeting at Southampton with the Ottoman Frigate, and the 
officers of the Sultan, him who received the Man of the Age, Kossuth, (immense 
cheers,) and extended to him and his compatriots the hand of friendship in their 
darkest hour. Cheerfully and loudly our cannon thundered our applause on dis- 
tinguishing the Ottoman flag, and freely and happily we smoked the Turkish calu- 
met of peace with the officers of the Feizi Baari, or the " Skimmer of the Seas." 
In truth, all with whom we came in contact showed but one feeling, and that a 
spirit of high consideration for our country, its institutions, and its people. As 
your navy officers, we felt proud to hear such things — at this sumptuous banquet we 
feel happy to relate them to you. (Cheers.) 

" The Bench and the Bar." 

Judge Campbell said : It may be safely said that, since the commencement of 
1847, England has learned more of us than she had done before in half a century. 
No observing traveller can fail to note the marked change. Hence, when the frigate 
St. Lawrence made her first visit to English waters, she was received with distinguished 
honor, and marked attention was shown to her commander and officers. When, 
under command of Captain Sands, to-night the city's guest, this same frigate returned, 
as it were, the messenger of peace and good will, we all know how our American 
hearts throbbed with emotions of joy, on reading the accounts of the welcome 
receptions. These things are like the reunions of members of a family long separated, 
coming together, and forgetting past differences, and remembering only their common 
glorious inheritance of civil and religious liberty. May these things long endure — 
union of brotherly feeling and good will between two great and kindred nations. 
Mr. President, I offer as a sentiment — 

"Universal peace, and the right of man and nations to self-government. May 
the former never be disturbed, except in support or defence of the latter." 

The speech of the learned Judge was received with enthusiasm and applause. 

L. R. Marsh responded : In recording honor to those who have officially represented 
our country in its contributions to the recent Exhibition in London, we honor the 
country and the cause. Our navy, sir, has not been idle, or its state inglorious. It 
has borne the stars in many a terrible conflict, and won renown amidst the whitening 
foam. But, sir, in the bright rosary of its achievements there will be counted few, 
if any, deeds of more substantial utility than that of the frigate St. Lawrence, when 
she took to the Old World, the evidence of the progress of the New. (Cheers.) No 
such convocation had the world beheld before. There was no array of hostile armies 
— no shock of battle frightened the earth j but all nations carried thither the products 
of their labor and invention — the embodied thoughts of the age — and placed them 
side by side, in peaceful competition. A hundred languages were fused in the very 
heart of England. Innumerable costumes varied the scene. From Siberian snows 
and burning sands — from the Orient and from the Occident, came tribute upon 



96 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

tribute of the good will of the whole family of man. (Cheers, which lasted several 
minutes.) In the accomplishment of her part of this peaceful drama, America 
freighted with her quota the good ship St. Lawrence. She sent such contributions 
as best illustrated the character of her people, and furnished demonstrations of her 
advance in the practical arts of life. (Renewed applause.) But her gifts lay, at 
first, slighted and sneered at. They were not understood. "A failure," " a failure," 
starts to European lips. The thunderer, the Jupiter Tonans of the press, vilified 
the American, and lauded the Indian compartments. True, there were among these 
western gifts no gauze more ethereal than gossamer; no damasks of richest dye ; no 
velvet housings, jewel-hilted sword, or barbaric pearl ; no grapes of amethyst, or 
cherries of cornelians ; no "stuffs so subtly woven, that the gold swam to the surface 
of the silk, like cream, and curdled to fair patterns." But it was at length discovered 
that in the neglected department of the Crystal Palace devoted to America, there 
lay energies, combinations, potentialities which the oldest nations had not dreamed 
of. (Great applause.) Here were implements coarse, it might be, and unpolished, 
compared with the exquisite fabrics of luxurious design ; but there were germs of 
strength within them which could fell primeval forests, and plant great cities in their 
stead. Here simplicity, engirt with power, displayed the prerogative of genius. 
Here were instruments, not poetic, not artistic, but filled with brawny muscles and 
sinewy strength. No rich Mosaic inlaid their surfaces; no enamelled sentiment 
embroidered their exterior ; but they were purposes, principles, made visible, tangible, 
and strong, in the coarse guise of wood and iron. They had Yankee souls within 
them, and no concealment or neglect, no jeers or sneers could prevent them from 
working out their destiny. India sent her Koh-i-noor, Cashmere her dainty textures, 
and Turkey her ornamented calumets. But these did not evince an onward march 
in the great pathway of time. (Applause.) The Mountain of Light — though of 
purest ray serene — had reposed in the dust for ages. The finest web of the Indian 
loom — which beauty's self might wear — had scarce improved in half a century, and 
the ancestor of the Turk had seen the wreathing column ascend from bowls of equal 
elegance. But America commissioned a plain, unostentatious, practical reaper, to 
go amidst the astonished husbandmen of a nation famous for agricultural perfection. 
The broad acres of old England acknowledged its sway ; their golden sheaves bowed 
before it. By our swift steamers we narrowed the Atlantic by a day. Our light 
yacht danced on English waters, and outsped the fleetest of English sails. These 
were positive advances — real acquisitions — conquered from the domain of the great 
unknown. They were not the slow result of patient toil expended on the polish of 
a gem, nor the waste of years in fruitless filagree. They were new powers, snatched 
from the armory of nature. As typical of national progress; of actual and substantial 
achievement; they were of greater worth than all the baubles that sparkle in Indian 
sands. (Immense applause.) 

Judge Reed, of Cincinnati, responded to the same toast: Thus, I hope that our 
nation and people who have been exhibiting to the world, to some limited extent, 
the arts of peace, and the mode of reducing the elements of nature and physical 
force to the service of man, and who sent out our distinguished guests in a national 
ship as our representatives at the great exhibition of mechanics' skill, will teach to 
the world the great lesson that all these triumphs of art, that all these wonderful 
exhibitions of genius and scientific application of natural powers, are secondary to 
man, for whose use they are, and whom God declared to be the lord of the world, 
and made him " immortal, and to be an image of his own eternity." Yes, sir, I 
trust that we have not only taught the nations of the earth how to plough, how to 
reap, and how to sail upon the sea, but how men should respect themselves and 
defend their rights. 

" The army and navy of the United States, who have crowned themselves with 
so much glory in the achievement and defence of our own liberty. If employed at 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 97 

all, may it be in the achievement of the liberties of mankind." (Drunk with all the 
honors.) ' ; 

Mr. J. W. G-erard said : My esteemed friend, Mr. Marsh, speaks of our recent 
success in England, on land and on sea, but he forgot one thing — a professional 
matter. The members of the bar, when called upon, are bound to defend all kinds 
of criminals, burglars among the rest. (Laughter.) And how my friend forgot the 
great picklock, Hobbs, I can't imagine. (Laughter.) He most certainly does 
belong to the nobility — (more laughter) — of whom my friend has spoken ; and I 
will place alongside of him our ship-builder, Mr. Steers — -(great applause) — and I 
will only say, that if there is a man in the land who honors the mechanic arts and 
nature's noblemen, it is myself. 



ENGLISH VIEWS OF AMERICAN GENIUS, SKILL, 
AND ENTERPRISE. 

The very able article below, reviewing some of the most remarkable among the 
triumphs achieved by American genius, skill, and enterprise at the World's Fair, 
is commended to the attentive perusal of our readers, from the novel views — 
profoundly true, however — the writer indulges in. It is from the London Morning 
Chronicle : 

Some of the most conspicuous triumphs of this great industrial year have been 
achieved by ". Statesmen" of the American Union ; and the interest excited by their 
success, under somewhat peculiar circumstances, has been augmented in the eyes of 
those who think they distinguish the stamp of national genius, upon the inventions 
which have thus torn a laurel from the older world. The ready but superficial 
reflection suggested by the consideration of these inventions, in connection with the 
general aspects of the American Department at the Exhibition, is, that industrial 
progress in the United States is but little dependent on large masses of combined 
labor. Those great appliances of utility or luxury which bespeak labor either 
excessively subdivided or in excessive combination, or those again which are the 
crowning achievements of industrial skill that has been accumulating through 
succeeding ages, were scarcely at all represented in the " far east" of the Crystal 
Palace. The eye lighted on nothing like the Austrian furniture, the Sevres work 
and Gobelin tapestry, or like some of those magnificent constructions in the 
English machine room, which exhibited the collective result of perhaps a hundred 
separate discoveries. On the contrary, the Revolver seemed to wear the mark of no 
genius but Mr. Colt's. The Reaping Machine might have been invented, and even 
constructed, by McCormick exclusively. Mr. Hobbs's Lock need have felt no hand 
but that of the fortunate inventor, and his skill in picking the work of other men's 
fingers did not, at all events, seem likely to have been communicated extraneously. 
Yet, all these appearances were false, in point of fact, and deceptive. The revolvers 
are the result, we understand, of some twenty emulous attempts to produce a perfect 
instrument of self-protection. We learn that McCormick's reaping machine is 
properly designated as an improvement upon several other contrivances directed to 
the same end; and it has even been asserted that it is not the best of its kind. 
And Mr. Hobbs is simply the representative of a Mechanics' Club, to which every 
member brings his lock, and permits it to be freely experimented upon by his 
colleagues ; so that both his lock and his lock-picking — though his own, of course, 
in one sense — are, in another, the product of the ingenuity of a confederated guild. 
The credit attaching to the ostensible discoverer is not one whit diminished by the 

13 



98 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

establishment of these facts ; but he is brought under the general economical law, 
that all great industrial successes belong to cooperation on a scale more or less 
extensive.' We would not, however, have Professor Maurice or Mr. Kingsley 
misinterpret the American lesson. It was not brotherly kindness, but friendly 
competition, which produced the revolver, the reaping-machine, or the unpickable 
lock. Each of the discoverers attained perfection after a series of beatings — beatings 
given, we understand, and taken in undisturbed charity. 

The famous clipper America is no exception to the law which is illustrated by 
the other American inventions — being, in fact, nothing else than a New England 
pilot boat. As to the specific combination of wood and iron, which so astonished 
the naval dilettanti at Cowes, we are informed that she was ordered of a New York 
ship-builder, for the express purpose of contending at the English Regatta. We 
read next, to our surprise, that there was some hesitation about accepting her, in- 
asmuch as, upon trial, she failed to outsail an elder sister — the Maria. She seems, 
however, to have been ultimately taken, out of regard to the gentleman who con- 
structed her. She was then transferred across the Atlantic to Havre, where she 
was equipped; thence she crossed to Cowes, and we all know what followed. To- 
gether, however, with this information, we learn that the keel of the America was 
laid, in reality, not last year, nor by Mr. Brown, nor by the order of Commodore 
Stevens, nor for the Isle of Wight Regatta. The beginning was made centuries 
ago, and for other and humbler exigencies. The New England pilot boats, of which 
the America is an ornamented imitation, date back — past the great contest between 
England and France, past the War of Independence — to the earliest commencement 
of American commerce, in the days when the first descendants of the Pilgrims, re- 
pelled by their sterile soil, fled for comfort and sustenance to the sea. The neces- 
sity for boats, which, cruising about the approaches of an iron-bound coast, should 
provide trading vessels, with the means of entering its scarce and difficult harbors, 
first called out these extraordinary craft ; and the enterprise and rivalry of gener- 
ations of hardy mariners, assisted by the accumulated skill and increasing emulation 
of the shipwrights in the ports, improved them at last to the point of their present 
perfection. It is a singular circumstance connected with the America, that she 
does not, by any means, appear to be a chefd'ceuvre. We have already intimated 
that she was beaten by the Maria before she crossed the ocean ; and now it seems 
that the New York Pilots are unanimous in denouncing a particular heresy in her 
build. If they can manage to raise the funds, they offer to superintend the con- 
struction of a vessel, of the same tonnage, which shall outsail her by a third of her 
reckoning. One of the most interesting features observable in all these American 
inventions, so various in their several applications, is their obvious appropriateness 
to some grand exigency ofthe country. We will not echo the ill-natured remark 
which connects Mr. Colt's revolvers with the frequency of what the newspapers of 
the Western states style " an unpleasant affair ;" but we will say that the six- 
chambered pistol is called forth by the multiplicity of occasions for self-defence, 
among an unsettled frontier population. Mr. Hobbs's lock had its nativity, most 
appropriately, in the most thoroughly commercial of cities ; and shall we add that 
his other art has, not unnaturally, attained perfection in the same locality. The 
America and the Reaping Machine are instances of especial fitness, for there is an 
unmistakable congruity between them and the grand resources of a country which, 
despite of Protectionist follies, will never grow rich and powerful but by reliance 
on the prolific and barren sea. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the local 
aptitude of these inventions does not in the least detract from their general useful- 
ness. On the contrary, it tends to augment their value as an example and a les- 
son. And here, by the way, as the meeting of the New York Yacht Club has 
been the cause of our observations, let us not forget to hint that the class to 
which its members belong may teach us something, no less than the American me- 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S EAIR. 99 

chanics. The richer— we must not say the higher — classes in the United States, 
have made some valuable discoveries in the Art of Living; and, to judge from ap- 
pearances, this affair of the America will have the effect of bringing them much 
more in contact with us than has hitherto been the case. Suppose, for instance, 
they instruct us in the possibility of living in smaller houses, and of employing 
fewer servants. We take it as unquestionable that the -Englishman is sur- 
rounded by more domestics, and inhabits a larger residence, than the citizen of 
any other country in the world. And this is so whatever be his rank — whether he 
be a shopkeeper in his suburban box, or a Duke whose almost fabulous income is 
consumed, like the nominal revenue of the old Highland chieftains, in feeding and 
clothing a clan. The scarcity of domestic servants in the States, and the odium 
and ridicule which attend excessive outward display, have practised the richer 
Americans in different habits of living; and we believe they can teach us that 
such an amount of comfort and luxury as few but the very highest among us enjoy, 
is attainable without indulging a species of extravagance which, besides the other 
objections to it, is more destructive, both socially and economically, than excesses 
which no one could dream of characterizing as innocent. 



THE FAST MAN. 

"Who is this celebrated individual, whom nobody can overtake ? Even time him- 
self, swift as he is represented, may be taken hold of by the foretop ; but the fast 
man shows nothing but his back, as he is outstripping all pursuers. He is un- 
doubtedly an American, who can run through ten miles or a fortune quicker than 
any body else. Certainly he sails the fleetest ships, and drives the steamer the most 
rapidly. Who eats so quick as he ? The Americans are the greatest riders in the 
world. Hiram Franklin is now turning the Parisians' dizzy heads with his round 
of Circus feats ; thereby perpetuating the fame of the philosopher of the same name, 
still remembered in the gay capital of France. For the Parisians adore genius, and 
do not much mind whether their homage is paid to a conqueror or a cook. Eaton 
Stone — their very name betrays their Yankee origin — is likewise vaulting into the 
saddle of celebrity in London, and riding and reigning in the admiration of the 
people. 

The Fast Man must certainly be an American, because nobody lives and propa- 
gates as fast as he ; and if he is so, when wide awake, be sure he is, when fast 
asleep. If he falls short of being fast in any thing, it is in this, that he is not quite 
so steadfast as would be for his good. See how he spends ! If he once sets out on 
the road to ruin, no one can make an end of the journey sooner than he. But, if 
he can run to the deil with greater expedition than any other man, it is but justice 
to acknowledge, that he can probably run back again with similar speed. An 
American funeral is sometimes seen upon a trot, and, if patience alone sits on a 
monument, our countrymen must be content to go to the grave without one. Of 
course, he has, from a mere feeling of impatience, been obliged to apply steam to 
navigation and invent the Telegraph. Neither could he possibly submit to the old 
slow way of cradling his wheat and other grain crops ; so he invented McCormick's 
" Reaper ;" and that men might not die any longer in the slow process of one at a 
time, Colt has presented us a " Revolver," which will settle the matter for a dozen 
at once. An American is not slow at breakfast ; so attached indeed is he to crea- 
ture-comforts, and so well entitled to the appellation we have given him, that in 
some States a particular day, called " Fast," has been set aside for the special ac- 
commodation of the Fast Man, and on it his execution at the table is double the 
usual rate. 



100 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

The diseases of the country assume the characteristic type. "We hear but little 
of slow fevers and lingering complaints ; gallopping consumptions are the rage, and 
the old quaternian can't be found in Webster's dictionary ; and so we suppose it 
has either become extinct, or been converted into a daily fit. In one part of the 
land at least, the City of New York, extraordinary haste has been exhibited to leave 
the world. Children who have just come into it, stay but a year or two, before 
they are in a hurry to depart. So great is the universal love of progress through 
the country, that even candidates for office who won't run, are dropped immediately. 
Such a thing as a stand still is utterly intolerable. No constitution of any of the 
States can be suffered to rest for more than ten years or so, when it is marched off 
at double quick time to make room for another. The temper of the people has af- 
fected the language ; for we cannot really suppose that a lady actually conforms her 
naturally graceful pace to the common phrase of her American gallant, when he in- 
vites her to " trot out" with him, and give her friend, Mrs. Wing, a flying call. In 
communities so active, one must make up his mind to meet much hasty temper as 
well as pudding, but it will be no great matter if the proper sweets are added. 

One thing more ; however fine it may be thought for boys and girls to leap over 
the barrier that divides them from gentlemen and ladies ; however flattering to 
national pride for America to be running the race of empire in her early youth, the 
judicious whose eyes have been placed in the forepart of their heads on purpose to 
see where it is best to step, and so that they may look before they leap, will not 
deem it improper to quote for the benefit of fast people, the old Latin maxim, "Fes- 
tina lente," make haste slowly. 



From the London Spectator. 

NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. 

Off one of our great naval ports, the shipbuilding of England has been challenged 
by an alien vessel, and defeated totally. It is a remarkable incident, and not satis- 
factory to the national pride. 

We may find solace in the fact that it is due to " accident." Strange as it must 
appear, it has only been in comparatively recent times that attempts have been made 
to reduce the water-cleaving power of the ship to scientific rule ; and hitherto sci- 
ence has not been happy in its efforts. The victory of the America, if we are not 
mistaken, practically refutes the newest hypothesis in the search for the philosopher's 
stone in the science of shipbuilding. The principle of Mr. Scott Russel's plan, we 
believe, was based on the fact that water displaced by a body which is removed fills 
the vacuity, not so much by falling in at the sides as rising from below ; hence it 
was calculated that if a vessel was built sharp and deep toward the bows, broad and 
shallow toward the stern, the very act of the water in rising to supply the displace- 
ment would aid the impetus on the body of the vessel ; and experiment tended to 
justify that expectation. The make of the America, we understand, is quite there- 
verse of that just described : the bows are sharp, and the breadth of beam, which is 
considerable, is greatest about parallel to the mainmast; so far coinciding with the 
other model. But the draught of water at the bows is trifling — about three feet ; 
and it deepens to three times as much toward the stern. 

The make is not conducive to great freightage capacity ; yet its origin is com- 
mercial. American shippers have inclined lately to prefer speed to large capacity ; 
as they find that rapidity, by facilitating certainty of movement and a multiplicity 
of voyages within a given time, returns a larger profit than slower and more uncer- 
tain voyaging with greater bulk. The model of the America is the result. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S PAIR. 101 

The good luck of the discovery has first fallen to the United States ; but there is 
no room either for chagrin or dismay. Ship-building in this country is not stag- 
nant ; a considerable number of ships are made annually, and there can be no 
doubt that any well-tested model will soon find its way to our docks. We shall not 
therefore, be much behind in the practical progress of ship-building. Nor is it to 
be assumed, that because empiricism has beaten science, that the latter is to yield 
in despair. On the contrary, empiricism has always been the jackal to theoretic 
science, and every discovery by the working shipwright only brings us nearer to 
the desideratum — a scientific rule. "We have heard an American express the hope 
that England, by beating America, would give the impulse for a new effort, which 
should, again give his country a new triumph. Such friendly emulation is not ri- 
valry : it is the pride of him, who for the moment gets foremost in the search for 
the common good. A more invidious feeling would have kept the America at 
a distance from our waters : as it is, our friends hasten over with a natural pride, 
to make us a party in the new idea. 

Prom the London Examiner 

The American challenge, stipulating for at least a six-knot breeze, proves that 
the America must be a wholesome as well as a fast craft. A six-knot breeze 
with a dead beat in a head sea would be too much for many of our crack yachts, 
which, if they are brought to reducing sail, are overwhelmed by the excess of 
their masts and spars in a sea way. 

The truth is, they are built for the inside of the Isle of Wight, and for own- 
ers who take to yachting for fashion's sake, knowing nothing about the matter, 
having no real taste for the sea, subject to sickness, and confining their trips to 
Hurst Castle to the west, Ryde and Portsmouth to the east, and preferring to 
them the Southampton water if a weather-tide raises a popple on the gentle Solent. 
The great pleasure of these gentlemen is to swagger about in sea-toggery, and to 
have boats'-crews in smart equipment dangling after them. Many a yacht hardly 
stirs from its moorings at Cowes in a whole season ; but to make up for that in- 
action, there is plenty of boat-work, rowing backwards and forwards, hailing and 
signalling. There are exceptions ! there are some score of the two hundred mem- 
bers of the Royal Squadron Club who are good seamen, ay, and competent navi- 
gators to boot; but the great majority are unskilled. The other Clubs contain a 
much larger proportion of seamen among their numbers, because with them it is not a 
matter of fashion so much as it is with the aristocratic Squadron. Some years ago a 
member of the Thames Club undertook to man his yacht (between 60 and 70 tons) 
with gentlemen members of the Club, exclusively, not employing a single working- 
man, and to sail her against any vessel of the Squadron, manned in like manner ; 
but the challenge fell to the ground, and well it might, for though there are some 
few members of the Royal Yacht Squadron who know whether a gaff-topsail is 
properly set or not, we have our doubts whether there is one who could go aloft 
and lace it to the topmast. But no matter how shallow the taste is, or how much 
is mere fashion, the fashion is a good one, and has excellent consequences, suscept- 
ible of further improvement, which we trust the present lesson of the America will 
stimulate. 

The veteran yachter, the Marquis of Anglesea, upon seeing the America, is re- 
ported to have remarked, " If she is right, we are all wrong." 

It is to be borne in mind, however, that something besides speed is to be con- 
sidered in the yacht. A yacht must have stowage and accommodation, and both 
these points are in the America sacrificed to speed. Still we have no doubt that 
something may be learned from a craft which requires a six-knot breeze, and beats 
our clippers ; and it is her model, not her canvas, that must be looked to for the 
lesson. 



102 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 



From Punch. 

A CONVERSATION AT THE EXHIBITION. 

Between an anxious Mother and a Policeman. 



" Good policeman, tell me, pray, 
Has my daughter pass'd this way ? 
You may know her by her bonnet, 
Yellow shawl, and brooch upon it. 
Far and near I've sought the girl ; 
I have lost her in the whirl : 
Do you think she yonder goes 
Where the Crystal Fountain flows ?" 

" Ma'am," says he, "on this here ground, 
Whatsomdever's lost is found ; 
Rest quite heasy in your mind, 
I your daughter soon will find ! 
Though she's got to forrin lands, 
Hicy-burgs or Hegypt's sands, 
Still, depend on't, soon she goes 
Where the Crystal Fountain flows ! 

" Perhaps Italian hart attracts 
Her, or them there flowers in wax. 
May be she has got hup stairs 
In among they heasy chairs ; 
And like Gulliver is sleeping 
Where them Lillipushum's creeping ; 
But she'll wake, and then she goes 
Where the Crystal Fountain flows ! 

" Yet, good ma'am, I should explain, 
She may stop a bit in Spain ; 
Smelling of them Porto snuffs, 
Looking at the Turkish stuffs. 



Or if warm, a Chiny fan, 
Offered by the Tartar man, 
Will refresh her as she goes 
Where the Crystal Fountain flows ! 

" She may see the silver things, 
Little watches, chains and rings ; 
Or mayhap, Ma'am she may stray 
Where the monster horgans play ; 
Or the music of all sorts, 
Great and small pyanny forts, 
May detain her as she goes 
Where the Crystal Fountain flows ! 

" Or she may have gone in hope 
Of a patent henvelope 
To take home, — and if she's able, 
Try to see the Eoman table ; 
Or insist on one peep more 
At the sparkling Koh-hi-nore : 
Then, the chance is, on she goes 
Where the Crystal Fountain flows !" 

" Well, policeman, certainly 
You're the man to have an eye 
Over such a place as this, 
And to find each straying Miss ! 
Pray, good man, my daughter tell, 
When she hears them ring the bell, 
I shall find her, if she goes 
Where the Crystal Fountain flows!' 



Hussey's Reaping Machine — Mr. Punch presents his compliments to Mr. 
Hussey, and hearing that his reaping machine is the best for corn cutting, will feel 
obliged by one being sent immediately, as he wishes to cut his own corns. Mr. 
Punch would not have troubled the celebrated American Hussey, but his own wife, 
Judy, is such a lazy Hussey, that she will not perform the operation required. 

[From the N. Y. Tribune.] 

American Industry Triumphant. — Perfection in the Arts is usually slow, 
but in our country we are led to expect that what we have determined to do, shall 
succeed, and "must go." American Cast Steel has been made in this country but 
a year or two, and has attained an excellence which defies competition. It has 
been manufactured by a party who never saw a pound of steel made till produced 
by himself; but he is a Yankee — and having had put into his hands some of the 
now celebrated Adirondac Iron, he worked and thought, toiled and persevered, till 
he produced a steel pronounced by competent judges unexcelled by any other in the 
world. The Adirondac steel has been tried at our Navy Yards, Armories, Machine 
Shops, Railroads, and in Cutlery, files, edge tools, etc., and has the strongest possi- 
ble testimony of its superlative merits. We commend such an article to the sup- 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S PAIR. 103 

port of all -true friends of American Industry, and particularly as the article is war- 
ranted, and competes in price with the imported. If Americans do not sustain such 
important productions of their own, where can we look for support ? 



From the Working Farmer. 

TRIUMPH OF AMERICAN SKILL. 

After the remarks of Professor Johnston's at Durham, in relation to our farm- 
ing implements, it is rather cheering to learn that an American plow has taken the 
first premium. From the following extract of a letter sent us by the agent of 
Messrs. Prouty & Mears, at New York, it will be seen that their plow received the 
first premium. 

We have been continually mortified at finding Americans attending the Great Ex- 
hibition, so bedazzled with the renowned Palais Royale shop windows, as to overlook 
the true merits of the American Department, and now, after all the abuse heaped 
upon us, we find that Ericson's Caloric Engine, Colt's Pistols, and Prouty & Mears' 
Plows, form the leading features among the new inventions. The Tubular Bridge, 
so much extolled in the English papers, cuts but a sorry figure along-side the models 
of American Bridges, none of which, like the Tubular Bridge, contain the elements 
of their own destruction. This bridge, so much extolled, is now actually being roofed 
over to prevent its being torn apart by the continuous expansion and contraction 
from the difference between the sun's heat at mid-day and at midnight; indeed, the 
cold current of air passing continually underneath, with the sun's direct heat on the 
upper side, cannot but cause every rivet to be abraded by the continuous expansion 
and contraction of the iron plates, and nothing but roofing to produce a more equa- 
ble temperature, can save the bridge from self-destruction in a few years. We claim 
for Brother Jonathan only what he deserves, and that is, an aptitude for mechani- 
cal invention equal to that of any other country, and at the same time we freely 
admit that the shop windows of Broadway do not contain so great a display of ex- 
travagant luxuries as those of Paris and London, and hence in the mere ornamental 
portions of the Exhibition, we do not astonish the gaping crowd as much as some 
other nations. 



From the New York Daily Times. 

THE YACHT VICTORY. 

After " Not a Lay of Ancient Rome." 

Not long ago, a year or so, a challenge proud came o'er 
From the builders bold of Britain, to those on the Yankee shore, 
That the Yachters of the Solent, with snowy sails unfurled, 
Would skim the seas, with any breeze, and laugh at all the world. 

There was joy in all the Inns of Cowes ! Lord Tom was proud and fine ; 
His Yacht from out all other yachts would surely take the shine. 
Sir Thomas Noakes was sure that with his pretty craft, the " Ray," 
He'd "smash each thing which they could bring from North America." 

In London all was confidence — the Senior United 

Club, and the Junior Service youths were equally delighted: 

Old codgers, sporting epaulettes, predicted what a rub 

All those would get who dared to try to beat the English Club. 



104 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Oh ! what a rushing is there to the Isle of Wight to-day ! 
The great Yacht Match is coming off — the very Heavens are gay : 
Reporters from the London Press are rushing in to catch 
First tidings for The Times, or Chron. or Herald, of this match. 

"Bell's Life" has prophesied that none but English Yachts can pass 
The winning point — but then the Ed. of " Bell " has lots of brass 
And all the English prints aver, with all their main and might, 
That an English Yacht will do the trick around the Isle of Wight. 

There is stir in Queen Victoria's home ; Her Majesty comes out, 

And with female curiosity, asks what the row's about : 

" Why," replies an ancient mariner, " your Majesty, they say, 

1 Here's a craft come o'er from Yankee Land to bother us to-day.' " 

Then loud laughed Queen Victoria — a merry laugh gave she, 
As she unto the sailor said, " I'm the mistress of the sea!" 
The sailor merely murmured, as he donned his monkey hat, 
" I guess, before the day is o'er, you won't be sure of that." 

The sun is high in the summer sky — the waves are blue and bright, 
Oh! ne'er was seen, on ocean green, a more heart-stirring sight: 
The crack Yachts of the English Club are ready for the fray, 
And the cry from every lip is — " Who shall bear the bell to-day?" 

There's a stranger Yacht among the rest, unlike all else is she ■ 
As a swan upon the azure deep she sitteth pleasantly ! 
The people eye her curiously, and unbelievers laugh 
And verily believe her to be only " half-and-half." 

Away and away, o'er the salt sea spray, the Yachts contending go, 
Their hulls dark, low, and sweeping — their sails like driven snow ! 
Oh ! would that Cooper from his grave could rise, and tell us how 
The Yachtmen managed to send through the surge each sharpened bow. 

On, on they go — a gallant show — but see, they fall away — 
The English Yachts are all behind the crack "America!" 
The very best of Britishers is nowhere, and at last 
The Yacht of Yankee Land has all its rivals passed ! 

Now, how the Queen came down, I ween, the concpiering boat to see, 

Is by this time a matter of Columbia's history ! 

And how the brisk America beat other Yachts to chalks 

Is as plain as any thing we meet in all our daily walks. 

So honor to the country, which upon a foreign strand, 
Has shown that it is destined on the ocean to command : 
And let Great Britain vapor and vaunt as she may please, 
'Tis not likely she will ever be the mistress of the seas. 

New York, Sept., 1851. 



J. R. r. 



Machinery. — The Hon. S. A. Douglass refers to this subject at the State Fair 
festival, Rochester. 

No country can award a higher premium to the inventive genius of machinists 
than our own : none can boast of a greater number of inventions applicable to agri- 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 105 

cultural and the mechanic arts. Our agricultural machines, especially, have excited 
the wonder of the world ; and along with our substantial achievements in that de- 
partment of industry, it is, perhaps, not unpleasant to have extorted the testimony 
of England, on a late occasion, to the ingenuity displayed by American inventors 

[From the Illustrated News.] 

Minerals. — Last in the series, and occupying the extreme east end of the Building, 
are the productions of the United States of North America — at present rather scanty 
in every department, and not especially remarkable for the series of unmanufactured 
minerals. Placed in the nave, where it occupies a prominent position, there may be 
seen a very fine specimen of zinc ore— one of a large series of zinc and iron ores from 
New Jersey. Together with the zinc ore are certain preparations of zinc intended 
to replace those at present derived from white lead, and far less injurious to health. 
Iron ores of great beauty and extremely rich, consisting of blocks of the carbonate 
from Connecticut and oxides from New Jersey, are placed for examination, and both 
native copper and copper ore are also to be found of large size and some value. We 
may also direct attention to some fine beryls ; some remarkably fine specimens of 
mica, talc, and steatite ; some pure feltspar, which has been occasionally imported 
into this country as china-stone ; some fine blocks of anthracite ; and, lastly, a large 
quantity of plumbago of sound quality, well adapted for various purposes, and the 
use of which is illustrated by a number of casting-pots or crucibles manufactured 
from it. Perhaps the most remarkable specimen from North America is a block of 
California gold (in the south end of the gallery,) weighing upwards of 18 lbs. 

[From the London Art Journal.] 

Brooklyn Flint Glass. — The American glass, we have remarked, was of re- 
markable purity, being absolutely free of all color. It stood pre-eminent from 
its brilliancy. This was due to the use of a pure siliceous sand, in which there was 
no coloring matter. This is a matter of the highest importance to the manufacturer 
of flint glass ; and sands are collected from all localities, almost regardless of expense, 
to insure the absence of coloring matter. The sands employed in this country are 
generally obtained from the Isle of Wight, the opposite coast of Hampshire, from 
the neighborhood of Aylesbury, and from one or two other localities. Much sand is 
brought from St. Helena, and even from the shores of Australasia. All these sands 
are, however, found to contain a little iron, and to prevent this from giving color, 
some oxide of manganese and arsenic are added for the purpose of per-oxidizing the 
iron. Glass thus made is often a little tinted of a rose hue, by a change in the 
manganesic oxide during the process of annealing. If the colorless sands of Ame- 
rica, — their localities being the Wenham Lake, the shores of Nova Scotia, and some 
few other places,— are employed, manganese need not be used, and the result is the 
production of a superior material. Messrs. Powell & Sons, of Whitefriars, were ex- 
hibitors of some glass made from the sands of the Wenham Lake, which was also of 
the most beautiful character, exhibiting the same freedom from color as the Ameri- 
can specimens. 

Gold. — One of the latest and most striking contributions to the Crystal Palace 
was the group of Californian Gold Plate, — a tea set. It was manufactured by 
the eminent firm of Ball, Tompkins & Black, of New York, and is a tribute from 
the merchants and citizens of that city to E. K. Collins, Esq., the successful projec- 
tor of the United States mail steamers — the " Collins line " — between England 
and America. The plate is constructed from the purest Californian gold entirely 
without alloy; the color being exceedingly brilliant and beautiful; and the objects 

14 



106 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

are designed in admirable taste. The history of this plate supplies an example of 
the rapidity with which our American friends labor; the gold was discovered, brought 
from the mine to New York, manufactured there, shipped for England, and safely 
deposited in the Exhibition,- — all within the space of ninety days. 



There is a great deal of talent in this poetry, which is from the pen of one of the 
most accomplished young ladies of the South : 

From the Louisville Journal. 

POWER'S GREEK SLAVE. 

What deathless triumph of immortal thought 

Hath the skilled sculptor's sentient chisel wrought ! 

A woman sprung from stone, but fair as she 

Whose lover braved the wild engulphing sea ; 

Or she who fired the world with Beauty's spell, 

When Grecian flames arose and Ilium fell. 

Thou radiant dream ! what though through Tempe's glade 

At eve thy breezy footsteps never strayed, 

Nor thy soft bow-like lip launched arrowy showers 

Of silver sounds through Ida's leafy bowers ? 

What though from famed Cecropia's templed height 

The blue encircling sea ne'er met thy sight, 

Nor sprang thy gaily gilt caique to kiss, 

The starry waves of sacred Palamis ? 

Of Greek descent, all pure and lineal thou, 

As though with vermeil lip and silken brow, 

Thy birth had been where Ossa towers in snow, 

Or where Arcadian measures sweetly flow. 

The calm composure of sublime despair, 

The vanquished grief thy tender features bear 

The eye resolved, tho' sad, the lip's proud curve, 

Which awes the rude insulter thou must serve, ' 

Bespeak thy image of the deathless free, 

Who perished victors, at Thermopylae. 

Sweet captive ! as the sculptor's classic brain 

Grew glowing with old Grecia's glory strain, 

Through mind's vast arcades rushed a shadowy throng 

Of manes dear to freedom and to song ; 

And as the proud historic host swept past, 

Thy prestige rose, the brightest and the last. 

Then watched the raptured carver, day by day, 

His dream through solid marble force its way. 

Slow rose each soft proportion, true and just, 

The tapering limbs — the pure and faultless bust — 

The rounded throat — the proud symmetric head, 

Bowed like the rain-crushed lily on its bed. 

A being bursting from the stone to sight, 

Fair as the daughter of the sea-foam white, 

And chaste as she with breast of spotless snow, 

PaleDian, huntress with the silver bow. 

A chain, alas ! thy model members bore, 

Fit type of " Greece, but living Greece no more," 

Yet does thy Faith's fair symbol speak how free 

The spirit of the youthful devotee ; 

And though amid the cold, unfeeling mart, 

Still to thy locket clings thy constant heart. 

Upon thy matchless lip lies music mute, 



jr 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 107 

And tuneless as upon an unstrung lute ; 
But could thy voice well from its silent urn, 
"What precious truths thy brutal lords might learn. 

" Ye bind these mortal limbs with iron gyves, 
The price of Maniote blood and Suliote lives ; 
But vainly do your Turkish fetters seek 
To quell the lofty spirit of a Greek. 
Te cannot forge the chain, the scourge, the rod 
.For souls that bow alone to Freedom's God. 
-' Degraded slaves ! ye sully manhood's name ! 

For you my burning brow is flushed with shame ; ^, 
You who forget that Justice never sleeps, 
That Pity o'er insulted Virtue weeps. 
Age ! tremble, on the Future's cloudy verge 
I see Bozzaris stand, Mahomet's scourge, 
Like some war-eagle with portentous swoop 
I see him put to flight your dastard troop, 
And teach your low, insensate souls to feel 
The deadly power of his avenging steel. 
Your vallies reek with noble Suliote blood, 
' And mine can scarcely swell the precious flood ; 
For 'tis not life to live a tyrant's slave, 
Nor death which rescues virtue from her grave. 
'Tis true, 'tis true, this form may bring you gold, 
But love and virtue are not bought or sold. 
Love ! love ! a faded name ! the battle field 
Cannot to passion's sigh its martyred hero yield, 
It was the tutelage of my earliest breath 
To purchase Freedom with the price of death ! 
And virtue ! ah ! who vainly seeks to buy 
Will learn how calmly Christian maidens die." 



ADRIENNE. 



Huntsville, May 2d, 1852. 



A Safe that is a Safe. — A London correspondent of the Boston Transcript 
says that a Mr. Herring, from New York, has a plain counting-room safe in the 
Great Exhibition, over which is a sign thus : 

" This contains two hundred sovereigns. The key is at the office of the U. S. 
Commissioner, at the service of any. one, and the money shall be the reward of the 
person who opens it." 

Now these are regarded as queer doings. There the key hangs, and Mr. Herring 
has posted off to France, confident that his gold is in the only place where it will 
be perfectly secure. 



108 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 



EDWARD K. COLLINS, ESQ. 

Mr. Collins was born in Truro, Mass., and at an early age went to New York, 
where he commenced the shipping and mercantile business on his own account. In 
1825 he built and established a line of ships from New York to Vera Cruz. In 
1S32 he built a number of fine ships, which were known throughout this country 
as Collins's New York and New Orleans line of packets. In 1836 Mr. C. built the 
Roscius, G-arrick, Sheridan, and Siddons, which were styled Collins's Dramatic line 
of packets; they were at that time the largest merchant ships ever built in the 
United States, and of course many wiseacres predicted a signal failure, but as the 
result proved, they sustained the reputation which his previous ships had gained, 
and to this day have maintained it. In 1848 the Collins line of steamships were 
commenced, and as a nation we are proud of their entire success. The New York 
merchants, as a testimonial of their appreciation of Mr. Collins's character and 
ability, have presented him with a beautiful service of gold plate, which we have 
reproduced in our picture, costing $8,000. This magnificent present was 
sent by the manufacturers to the exhibition at London, as a specimen of American 
skill — and appreciation of merit. There is one circumstance which came to our 
knowledge, some years since, which ought to be mentioned here. In 1841 the 
Spanish government sent an officer to New York, with instructions to have two war 
steamers built. On his arrival,. he was told that it would be impossible for him to 
obtain in this country any thing at all satisfactory ; to which he replied, " A ship 
(the Siddons) passed us going out as we came into port, that pleased me very much." 
He expressed a wish to be, and was, introduced to Mr. C, to whom he made his 
business known. Mr. C. kindly volunteered to direct the building of the two war 
steamers, Regent and Empress, which were sent to Cuba, and after a trial, they 
were pronounced highly satisfactory, and at the present time they are unsurpassed 
by any foreign war steamer that has visited the island of Cuba. The service was 
kindly acknowledged by the Spanish government. We merely give this to show 
what good judgment and perseverance will accomplish. In private life Mr. Collins 
sustains the highest character for those domestic qualities that render home and 
friends happy ; while in public, his extraordinary usefulness and enterprise have 
won for him a lasting name. 

Mr. Collins has received from every section of our country, the most gratifying 
proofs of the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens, for his public 
spirit, for his unbounded liberality, and for his high-soulcd patriotism. The 
testimonial, however, which was the most flattering to his pride was, no doubt, that 
which was bestowed on him by the Corporation of New York — of the Empire City — 
of the city, illustrious through a thousand brilliant antecedents, but famous to the 
world as the commercial metropolis of this vast republic. That body, in solemn 
council assembled, voted him their thanks, to be emblazoned and presented to him, 
with imposing formalities, for his labors in having endowed New York with his 
unrivalled line of steamers between that port and Liverpool. To aid, as much as we 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 109 

can, in perpetuating the recollection of an event so honorable to the public body and 
the private citizen, we subjoin a copy of the letter press in that instrument : — 

In Common Council oe the City op New York. 

Whereas, In the establishment of the New York and Liverpool United 
States Mail Steamship Company, a number of our citizens have shown their 
enterprize, and exhibited to the world A line oe steamers unequalled by any 
which have hitherto been built, as well in their superior construction, as in their 
magnificent and convenient accommodations ; and 

Whereas, The voyages which said steamers have made, between this port and 
Liverpool, excelling in speed all others, reflect deserved credit, not only upon the 
Citizens by whose skill they were built, but also on the Commanders by whose 
seamanship they have been guided across the ocean ; and 

Whereas, It is proper that the Common Council of this commercial metropolis 
should express in behalf of its citizens, the gratification so generally felt in the 
successful establishment of said line, and in the unparalleled voyages which the 
steamers composing the same have made, Therefore, be it 

Resolved, That in the establishment and successful operation of the New York 
and Liverpool United States Mail Line oe Steamers between this port and 
Liverpool, the citizens of New York, as well as our whole country, have cause to 
entertain a feeling of deep gratification towards the Company, through whose capital 
and perseverance we are indebted for this additional exhibition of American skill 
and enterprise ; and further, 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Common Council are eminently due, and the 
same are hereby tendered to 

Edward K. Collins, Esq., 

and other public-spirited individuals associated with him in projecting and carrying 
out said enterprise ; and that we earnestly commend the steamers composing said 
line to the support and confidence of the American people, as well as to the liberal 
encouragement of the General Government, 

Adopted by the Board of Aldermen, August 5th, 1851. 

MORGAN MORGAN, President. 
Concurred in by the Board of Assistant Aldermen, August 12th, 1851. 

A. A. ALVORD, President. 
Approved August 14th, 1851. 

A. C. KINGSLAND, Mayor. 
D. T. VALENTINE, Clerk C C. 



HON. DANIEL WEBSTER ON NATIONAL PROWESS. 

The following extract from a speech made by the great expounder of the 
Constitution — the great New Englander — at the Boston Rail Road Jubilee, 
September 17, 1851, will be read with delight by all true-hearted Americans : 

Why, Sir, the bitterest, the ablest, the most anti- American press in all Europe 
[London Times] within a fortnight, has stated that in every thing valuable, in every 
thing that is for human improvement, the United States go so far ahead of every body else 
as to leave nobody else in sight. It is like the position of Jove among the gods — 
Jove is first, and there is no second; and in another paper influential in the 
Councils of Great Britain, the editor says : — "The time may come — he might almost 
have said, and now is — when America shall command the ocean, and both oceans, 



110 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

and all oceans." This results partly from the skill of individuals, and partly from 
the untiring ingenuity of the people, and partly from those great events which have 
given us the ocean of one world on one side, and the ocean of the other world on 
the other. They appear to have filled the minds of the people with astonishment, 
and it brought to my mind a story told of a gentleman not now living. It was 
related to Mr. John Lowell, about thirty years ago, returning to Europe after the 
Peace of 1815. The gentleman to whom I have referred, was spoken to, by some 
one of the great personages of Europe, who, alluding to the naval power of the 
United States, said that he hoped the European powers would now be permitted to 
traverse the ocean quietly, and the response was "Yes, with our leave." 
(Applause.) 



COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO THE OWNERS OF 
THE YACHT AMERICA. 

We extract from the columns of the New York Courier and Enquirer of October 
3, 1851, the following interesting report of the grand dinner, given at the Astor 
House, to the owners of the glorious little craft, the America : 

A sumptuous dinner was given at the Astor House on Wednesday evening, Oct. 
1st, by the Yacht Club of this city, to Commodore John C. Stevens, Edwin A. 
Stevens, and Col. J. A. Hamilton, on their return home from their triumphal 
cruise in the yacht America. 

The company assembled at half past five o'clock, the members of the club muster- 
ing in great numbers. Among the guests invited were Commodores Kearney and 
Perry, of the U. S. Navy ; the President of Columbia College ; Dr. Kane, Surgeon 
of the expedition that went in search of Sir John Franklin ; (Capt. De Haven, the 
Commander of the expedition, was unable to be present,) and Capt. Comstock, of 
the U. S. steamer Baltic, with whom Messrs. Stevens and Hamilton returned to the 
United States. 

At six o'clock dinner was announced, and the chair was taken by J. Prescott 
Hall, Esq., having on his right Commodore Stevens, on his left Col. Hamilton. 
Mr. Edward Stevens was prevented by indisposition from attending. At the head 
of the room, the American and the English flags were intertwined. The tables 
were decorated with various devices emblematic of the occasion, and the dinner and 
wines were such as at the Astor House they know how to serve. Occupying a con- 
spicuous position on the table facing the President, was the cup won by the America 
in the regatta. 

When the substantial part of the dinner was over, the presiding officer, Mr. Hall, 
rose, and calling to order, thus addressed the company : — 

Gentlemen of the New York Yacht Club: — We are assembled here this evening 
upon an occasion peculiarly gratifying. It is to welcome back to their native shores, 
Commodore Stevens, and two other distinguished members of this Club, who have 
recently played an interesting part in the drama of human action. 

During their absence, many searching eyes have been turned towards their track- 
less path ; many an anxious thought has been fixed upon their adventurous voyage 
— while many silent, but deep-breathed aspirations have gone forth for their welfare, 
safety, and success. 

They have been abroad to unfold the American standard where the ensigns of 
all other nations were to be displayed ; to contend in harmonious rivalry, for the 
palm of superior skill upon that element, which has been bestowed with an im- 
partial hand upon the people of the whole earth as their common property. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. Ill 

The flag, which floated at their mast-head, bore upon its field an eagle grasping 
arrows and carrying an olive branch. But those arrows were not poisoned by hatred, 
malice, or national revenge ; while the olive branch, ever green and beautiful, was 
an emblem of that peaceful plant, which the dove brought to the ark, to show that 
the turbulent waters had subsided. Their errand was no mission of war, in which 
kindred blood was to stain the fair surface of a pacific sea ; but the contest was to 
be the strife of art, of science, of skill, of manly daring, and noble self-control. 

How interesting, gentlemen, was the spectacle, when an American yacht glided qui- 
etly into a British harbor, to take up a gage which had there been thrown down to all 
the nations of the civilized world. Bat Van Tromp comes no more into the English 
Channel. The sailors of sunny France look out upon the shores of their neigh- 
bors, as has been their wont for many a weary year, merely to see the " meteor flag 
of England" still wave upon the waters, now become its own. The eagles of the 
north will not venture to show a plume upon the narrow seas ; and the bold defi- 
ance must be met, if met at all, by those who speak the language of the challengers 
— in whose veins the same blood flows — who cherish the same free institutions, fol- 
low the same laws, and love with all their hearts the manly sports of their ances- 
tors. (Great applause.) 

For a time, gentlemen, the national pride, the national character, and, in some 
degree, the national honor, were committed to the keeping of our distinguished 
guests; and to what stronger hands or truer hearts could all these precious jewels 
have been confided ? (Cheering.) 

The contest has commenced ; witnesses from all civilized nations look on, and a 
Royal Queen comes down from her throne to behold the animating scene. 

Our Commodore says to his competitors, in modest but self-relying terms, " Un- 
fold your standards to the sky ; come away from the lazy winds of the shore ; give 
us a six knot breeze, — 

Pelagoque volans da vela patenti," 

Gentlemen : — What would not the members of this club have given to be present 
upon such an occasion, that they might animate their countrymen by their cheers, 
and breathe upon their sails the thick-coming breath of all their hopes and all their 
wishes. We look out upon the scene — we rush into the contest — our hearts beat 
quickly — we feel the solicitudes of the strife — but the pleasures of the contest, 
gaudia certaminis, are all our own, and we are permitted to rejoice in a triumph. 

We rejoice in it, not in vain-glorious boasting, but in the pride of our descent, 
in the fairness and character of our opponents, in the thought that we have met even 
English competitors upon English seas, and that our flag has never been lowered, 
except in the graceful courtesies of success. 

" When Greek meets Greek then is the tug of war." 

(Loud Cheers.) 

Gentlemen : — But for the zeal, the energy, and perseverance of our gallant Com- 
modore, this Club would never have come into existence, for he breathed into it the 
breath of life. And if there had been no New York Yacht Club, then there had 
been no struggle for nautical superiority upon British waters, and no triumph to 
bring us together upon this festive occasion. v - 

Born, almost, upon the sea, Commodore Stevens has from his youth sported with 
its waves. By degrees, he imparted his own taste to others, — to others he cannot 
impart his own knowledge and power. That which to the scientific is the consum- 
mation of a noble art, is to him an amusement, — and his pleasure is to struggle with 
the winds and waves, and overcome them by his skill. 

By his influence this Club has been established, and upon it the nation has been 
pleased to bestow a legal existence. While our models are open to inspection, we 
are permitted to carry an ensign which is to be respected wherever our Eagle flies 



112 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

upon Atlantic or Pacific coasts. By law, we are authorized to carry as our own, a 
flag nearly identical with that which has " braved the battle and the breeze" ever 
since we became a nation ; and who will say, that under the charge of our gallant 
Commodore, one star has been dimmed, or one stripe stained or defaced ? (Pro- 
longed cheers.) 

We welcome you sir, (turning to Commodore Stevens) back to your native land. 
We welcome you and your companions to the fair scenes of your youth, to the fields 
of your manly years, and to the solace of kindred, friends, and countrymen. I give 
you, gentlemen, as a sentiment : 

" Commodore John C Stevens and his distinguished associates in the late voyage 
of the yacht America. They are welcome, ever welcome, to their native land." 

The address of Mr. Hall was received with repeated cheers, and the toast was 
drunk standing and with three times three well uttered. 

Commodore Stevens, sensibly affected by the warmth of this welcome, as the 
tremor of his voice and hand manifested, read the following reply : 

Gentlemen : — Before commencing my reply to the flattering and overwhelming 
eulogium of the honorable and eloquent chairman, I will claim your indulgence to 
make a brief statement in writing, to the end that there shall be no misunderstand- 
ing, if a question should ever arise as to what I did or did not say. Have I your 
consent ? In the diplomatic notes of invitation forwarded to me, there was a letter 
enclosed from the chairman, assuring me that no harm was intended, begging me 
not to be afraid, and pledging himself and the committee, if I should be knocked 
over or stunned by the gun they were to fire at me, they would be in readiness to 
pick me up and put me on my legs again, and to support me until I should recover 
sufficiently to stand alone. Remembering the awful risk I had run some three 
months since, on an occasion somewhat similar, from an unexpected explosion, the 
alarming effect of which I barely escaped by a lucky dodge, I determined to come 
to an understanding with the committee as to what the amount of danger really was. 
On ascertaining this, I concluded, after mature reflection, to make the following 
offer, viz. : — I would agree to stand, (if possible without flinching,) one discharge 
from the biggest gun they could find, loaded with small shot, and filled to the 
muzzle with cannisters of tropes and figures, of any sort or size, best adapted to their 
purpose, provided I might return the fire (if I survived) by a single round shot, 
billeted with the simple and heartfelt expression of my sincere thanks to you for 
your friendly attentions and unvarying kindness. It was further stipulated that I 
was at liberty to reply to any other discharge, however more or less dangerous it 
might prove, either by making one of my best bows, which I was to practise for the 
occasion, or by retreating to the shelter of some friendly rampart, armed with metal 
as heavy as their own. How the committee have carried out their part of the bar- 
gain, you have seen and heard. I owe my acknowledgments to the chairman, 
which I trust he will accept, for not risking the bursting of his gun by putting in a 
heavier load. 

I owe also a debt of gratitude to the Colonels Hamilton and Stevens for the great 
care they took that I should have nothing my own way, without their full approval 
and assent. I wanted, at first, to play Commodore a la Uncle Sam. They would 
not listen to it ; but insisted, as free and independent democrats, that the majority 
should rule. This conduct I considered mutinous, but as flogging was done away 
with by law, and they had contrived to get the captain and crew on their side, I 
thought it best to wink at it, and let them cut and carve and alter and amend — con- 
soling myself with the old adage, "that discretion was the better part of valor;" 
and with the reflection, that if any thing went wrong in the conduct of this busi- 
ness, I might attribute it to the iron will of this stony hearted majority. 

You may perhaps have observed that my hair is somewhat greyer than it was 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 113 

■when I last met you. I'll tell you how it happened — but I am trespassing on your 
good nature. 

In coming from Havre, we were obliged, by the darkness of the night and a 
thick fog, to anchor some five or six miles from Cowes. In the morning early the 
tide was against us, and it was dead calm. At nine o'clock a gentle breeze sprang 
up, and with it came gliding down the Laverock, one of the newest and fastest cut- 
ters of her class. The news spread like lightning that the Yankee clipper had ar- 
rived, and that the Laverock had gone down to show her the way up. The yachts 
and vessels in the harbor, the wharves, and windows of all the houses bordering on 
them, were filled with thousands of spectators, watching with eager eyes, the event- 
ful trial they saw we could not escape ; for the Laverock stuck to us, some- 
times lying to, and sometimes tacking around us, evidently showing she had no in- 
tention of quitting us. We were loaded with extra sails, with beef and pork, and 
bread enough for an East India voyage, and were some four or five inches too deep 
in the water. We got up our sails with heavy hearts — the wind had increased to a 
five or six knot breeze, and after waiting until we were ashamed to wait longer, 
we let her get about two hundred yards ahead, and then started in her wake. I 
have seen and been engaged in many exciting trials at sea and on shore. I made 
the match with Eclipse against Sir Henry, and had heavy sums, both for myself 
and for my friends, depending upon the result. I saw Eclipse lose the first heat 
and four-fifths of the second, without feeling one hundredth part of the responsi- 
bility, and without sufFering one hundredth part of the fear and dread I felt at the 
thought of being beaten by the Laverock in this eventful trial. During the first 
five minutes, not a sound was heard, save, perhaps, the beating of our anxious hearts, 
or the slight ripple of the water upon our sword-like stem. The captain was 
crouched down upon the floor of the cockpit, his seemingly unconscious hand 
upon the tiller, with his stern unaltering gaze upon the vessel ahead. The men 
were motionless as statues, with their eager eyes fastened upon the Laverock with 
a fixedness and intensity that seemed almost unnatural. The pencil of an artist 
might, perhaps, convey the expression, but no words can describe it. It could not, 
and did not last long. We worked quickly and surely to windward of her wake. 
The crisis was past, and some dozen of deep-drawn sighs proved that the agony 
was over. 

We came to anchor a quarter, or perhaps, a third of a mile ahead, and twenty 
minutes after our anchor was down, the Earl of Wilton and his family were on 
board to welcome and introduce us to his friends. To himself and family, to the 
Marquis of Anglesea, and his son, Lord Alfred Paget ; to Sir Bellingham Graham, 
and a host of other noblemen and gentlemen, we were indebted for a reception as 
hospitable and frank as ever was given to a prince or a peasant. From the Queen 
herself, we received a mark of attention rarely accorded even to the highest among 
her own subjects ; and I was given to understand that it was not only intended as 
a courtesy extended to myself and friends, but also as a proof of the estimation in 
which she held our country ; thereby giving a significance to the compliment 
infinitely more acceptable and valuable. Long may the bonds of kindred affection 
and interest, that bind us together at present, remain unbroken. As a further 
proof of the feeling of the government and the people towards us, I will mention the 
following act of kindness. We had the misfortune, the day before the race with 
the Titania, to knock off a part of our outer shoe. This rendered it necessary that 
we should haul her out, and we repaired to the government dock, at Portsmouth, 
for the purpose. On the instant the application was made, an order was issued by 
the Admiral to repair her in the shortest time possible. If you could have wit- 
nessed the vigor and good will exhibited, from the Admiral down to the humblest 
mechanic of the yard, to complete her for the next day's race, you would, I am 
sure, have felt the obligation (rendered so doubly binding, by the manner in which 

15 



114 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

it was tendered) as deeply and sincerely as ourselves, and would regret as much 
and as sincerely as ourselves, that any cause of quarrel should arise to separate two 
nations that want to be better acquainted with each other's good qualities, to become 
and to remain fast friends. She was docked at twelve and finished by 8 o'clock the 
same evening. For this important service, no remuneration in any shape or way, 
would be listened to. The Admiral, in expressing the pleasure it gave him to do 
us a service, endeavored to prevail upon us to believe the obligation to be altogether 
on his side. I trust with confidence, that if occasion should occur, this delicacy 
and feeling will be as promptly and as delicately reciprocated. 

/ In the race with the Titania, I suspect — although I do not know the fact — that 
too much of her ballast was taken out. It gave her an advantage in going before 
the wind, but told very much against her in returning. There was a steady breeze 
and a good sea running, and she fell so rapidly to leeward as to be hull down, and 
nearly out of sight. We beat her, according to the Secretary's report, three or four 
minutes in going clown, and some forty-eight or fifty minutes in returning, on a 
wind. In the race for the Queen's Cup, there were, I think, seventeen entries, 
most of which, I believe, started. In addition to them, there were seventy or 
eighty, or, perhaps, one hundred, under weigh, in and about the harbor ; and such an- 
other sight, no other country, save England, can furnish. Our directions from the 
sailing committee were simple and direct ; we were to start from the flag-ship at 
Cowes, keep No Man's buoy on the starboard hand, and from thence make the best 
of our way round the island to the flag ship from which we started. We got off 
before the wind, and in the midst of a crowd that we could not get rid of for the 
first eight or nine miles ; a fresh breeze then sprang up that soon cleared us from our 
hangers on, and sent us rapidly ahead of every yacht in the squadron. At the 
Needles there was not a yacht that started with us in sight, so that the answer said 
to have been given to a question from a high personage, of who was first ? The 
America. Who is second ? There is no second — was literally true. 
** After passing the Needles, we were overtaken by the Royal steam-yacht " Victo- 
ria and Albert," with her Majesty and her family on board, who had come down to 
witness the trial of speed between the models adopted by the old world and those 
of the new. As the steamer slowly passed us, we had the gratification of tendering 
our homage to the Queen, after the fashion of her own people, by taking off our 
hats, and dipping our flags. At this time, the wind had fallen to a light breeze, and 
we did not arrive at the flag-ship until dark. I could not learn correctly at what 
time, or in what order, the others arrived. The Cup before you is the trophy of 
that day's victory. I promised, half jest and half earnest, when I parted with you, 
to bring it home to you. The performance of this promise is another exemplifica- 
tion of the truth of an old saw, " that what is oftentimes said in jest, is sometimes 
done in earnest." I am requested by the gentlemen owning this cup, to beg your 
acceptation of it as a testimony of their gratitude, for the interest you have so 
keenly felt and so often and kindly expressed, in our welfare and success. I have 
but to regret that the late hour at which I made up my mind to attempt a reply, 
has put it out of my power to make it what it ought to be, (and perhaps, but for 
that, what it might be) more worthy of your acceptance. With your permission, I 
will propose, as a toast — 

" The health of the Earl of Wilton." 

The Commodore's toast and speech were cheered enthusiastically. His admira- 
ble description of the intentness of expectation on board the America, on her first 
trial with the Laverock, spell-bound all listeners, and almost transformed them in- 
to the statues to which he likened his crew. Each allusion in the address to the 
courtesy and manly fair play of his competitors, during his stay at Cowes, 
and especially the liberal and prompt conduct of the Admiral of the station, 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 115 

in putting Her Majesty's dock and workmen in requisition for repairing an accident 
to the America, called forth very marked expressions of gratification. 

The toast to Earl Wilton was drunk standing, with three times three. 

Mr. George Talman, first Vice President, after some complimentary remarks up- 
on the liberal, courteous and manly reception given to our yacht in England, and 
to her officers, proposed a toast — 

" The Royal Yacht Squadron of England." 

Col. Hamilton being called for, proceeded to address the company in a narrative 
to which, because it was so interesting, we can do but scant justice. Col. Hamil- 
ton began by saying that, inasmuch as there had been some imputations of presumption 
cast upon the enterprize of the America, as though the New York Club had rushed 
unbidden into the contest, he thought it right to say that it was only in acceptance 
of an invitation, and not as a volunteer, that the America had gone to London, and 
he read in proof the following correspondence : — 

7, G-rosvenor Square, Londofi, Feb. 22, 1851. 

Sir, — Understanding from Sir H. Bulwer that a few of the members of the New 
York Yacht Club are building a schooner, which it is their intention to bring over to 
England this summer, I have taken the liberty of writing to you in your capacity 
of Commodore, to request you to convey to those members, and any friends that 
may accompany them on board the yacht, an invitation on the part of myself and 
the members of the Royal Yacht Squadron, to become visitors of the Club House 
at Cowes, during their stay in England. 

For myself, I may be permitted to say, that I shall have great pleasure in extend- 
ing to your countrymen any civility that lies in my power, and shall be very glad 
to avail myself of anyimprovements in ship-building, that the industry and skill of 
your nation have enabled you to elaborate. 

I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, 

Wilton, Commodore of the R. Y. S. 

New York, March 26th, 1851. 
My Lord. — I regret that accident prevented the reception of your letter, until 
after the packet of the 12th had sailed. I take the earliest opportunity offered, to 
convey to the gentlemen of the Royal Yacht Club, and to yourself, the expression 
of our warmest thanks for your invitation to visit the Club House at Cowes. Some 
four or five friends and myself have a yacht on the stocks, which we hope to launch 
in the course of two or three weeks. Should she answer the sanguine expectations 
of her builder, and fulfil the stipulations he has made, we propose to avail ourselves 
of your friendly bidding, and take with a good grace the sound thrashing we are 
likely to get, by venturing our long-shore craft on your rough waters. I fear the 
energy and experience of your persevering yachtmen will prove an overmatch for the 
industry and skill of their aspiring competitors. Should the schooner fail to meet the 
expectations of her builder, not the least of our regrets will be, to have lost the op- 
portunity of personally thanking the gentlemen of the Royal Yacht Squadron and 
yourself for your considerate kindness. With the hope that we may have the plea- 
sure of reciprocating a favor so frankly bestowed, 

I remain your Lordship's most ob't servant, 

John C. Stevens, Commodore of the N. Y. Y. C. 

There had previously been some talk of a race with the yachts of England, and 
Wm. H. Brown, the well-known and skillful ship builder, had undertaken to build 
a schooner that should out-sail any other vessel at home or abroad — and he agreed 
to make the purchase of her, contingent upon her success. His offer was accepted 
by the Yacht Club, and the America was built — but she failed in repeated trials to 
beat Commodore Stevens's yacht Maria, and of course the Club were not bound to 



116 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 

purchase. But the liberality of Mr. Brown's original offer was so great in assuming all 
the risk, and the vessel in fact proved herself so fast, that several gentlemen, the Com- 
modore at the head, determined to buy her, and send her out. She was purchased 
accordingly, and sent to Havre, there to await the arrival of the members of the 
Club, who were to sail her, — they following in a steamer. 

Being completed and made ready at Havre, we sailed thence to Cowes. Our ar- 
rival was greeted with every hospitality and courtesy — not only by the noblemen 
and gentlemen of the Royal Yacht Club — but by the officers of Government. Lord 
Palmerston sent down an order that the America should be admitted in all the Eng- 
lish ports — on the footing of English yachts — the Custom Houses were all free to 

her and the Admiral of the Station at Portsmouth offered every assistance and 

civility. 

The Earl of Wilton and the veteran Marquis of Anglesea, now 80 years of age, 
were among the first visitors on board, and they and all the members and officers of 
the Yacht Club, and numberless others, evinced in every manner the kindest feel- 
ings, and showed us the most delicate attention. 

As the America was an object of great interest, the Admiral applied to our Com- 
modore to know if there would be any objection to taking her lines. The Commo- 
dore, with his instinctive sense of right, replied that he considered the lines and 
model of the America as the property of the builder, and he did not feel at liberty 
to permit them to be copied. The Admiral instantly acquiesced in this view, and 
gave an order that none under his command should attempt to take the lines of the 
America. 

When the time for the regatta came, which was to take place on the most danger- 
ous course possible for a stranger, in the waters of the Isle of Wight, — with their 
currents and eddies, familiar only to those accustomed to the waters— great solicitude 
was naturally felt, as to the pilot that was to be employed. Warnings of all sorts 
from various quarters reached us, not to rely too much upon any pilot that might 
offer, and our Commodore was naturally perplexed. But here again the Admiral, 
with an intuitive perception of the difficulty — of which no mention, nevertheless, 
was ever made to him — told Commodore Stevens that he would furnish him with a 
pilot, for whom he himself would be answerable. The offer was as frankly accepted 
as it was honorably made. The pilot came on board, and never for a moment, was 
there a suspicion on any mind, that he was not as thoroughly honest and reliable as 
any one of ourselves. Yet so strong was the distrust among our countrymen out- 
side, that even after the pilot was in charge, the Commodore was warned, by letter, 
not to trust too much to him, and urged to take another pilot to overlook him. 
His own loyal character would not entertain such a proposition. He gave his confi- 
dence to the pilot the Admiral sent him, and it was most completely justified. 
, But no one present can realize the anxieties of that contest, for we knew the 
ground was most unfavorable to us. When the yacht got off, while the wind was 
fresh, we went away easily, but twice the wind failed us, and, with a strong head 
tide, we were actually drifting back, while lighter vessels with a greater and lof- 
tier spread of canvas, taking advantage of small draught of water and eddies known 
to them, were gradually overhauling us. But at last the wind came, and with it, 
victory, and we sailed away from our competitors far and fast. The Queen, in her 
steam yacht, was there to witness the race ; and after entering the Needles, so great 
was the anxiety of the Sovereign to ascertain the state of the race, that Lord Paget 
was stationed off the point to make signal to the royal steamer as to who was 
ahead. Then occurred those questions and answers : Who leads ? The America. 
Who is second ? No one. The return of our vessel far in advance of all the 
Squadron, was greeted with as much warmth of acclamation as though it had been 
in our own harbor ; and it is only just to say that fair play and manly acknowledg- 
ment of a fair beat were never more honorably exhibited. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 117 

Mr. Hamilton then proceeded to give an account of the race with the Titania, of 
which the details are for the most part familiar to our readers, and concluding with 
a sportive denial of the implied charge of mutiny brought against him by the Com- 
modore, who, he declared, had been, and was all the time, every inch a Commodore 
— he sat down amidst prolonged cheering. Subsequently, Simeon Draper, after some 
happy remarks, proposed as a toast, which was drunk with resounding acclamations, 

" Captain Brown and the Officers and Crew of the America." 

A toast to the Yacht Maria — 

" The Victor of the Victor," 
was then drunk, and calls being made for the Commodore, he got up, and making a 
very graceful bow, sat down again. The calls were, however, renewed — when he 
rose and said he stood upon his bond, and thereupon produced from a deep pocket a 
bond, formally signed and sealed, of which a copy follows : — 

Know all men by these Presents, That we, Andrew Foster, William E. Laight, 
Nathaniel Bloodgood, and William Edgar, all of the city of New York, are held and 
firmly bound unto Commodore John C. Stevens, also of said city, in drinks for the 
company, to be paid to the same Commodore Stevens, his executors, administrators, 
and assigns, for which payment, well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, our 
heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, jointly and severally, firmly by these 
presents, sealed with our seals, dated the first day of October, 1851. 

Whereas, the said Commodore Stevens has been invited to dine this day with 
some of the members of the New York Yacht Club, and whereas, we are ■ the 
Managing Committee for said dinner, and whereas, the said Commodore Stevens 
has accepted the said invitation, upon the special agreement and understanding that 
he shall, under no circumstances, be called upon or expected to make more than 
one speech, or reply to any toasts which may be offered, or speeches made in his 
honor, or that of the expedition of which he lately had command ; and that if more 
than one such toast shall be offered, or more than one such speech shall be made, 
then that the said Commodore Stevens shall have the privilege of replying to the 
second, and all subsequent toasts and speeches, by a Bow or Bows, of the most 
approved and latest French fashion. 

Now, therefore, the condition of this obligation is such, that if the said Commodore 
Stevens shall be compelled to make more than one speech at the said dinner, 
then this obligation to be and remain in full force and virtue, otherwise to be null 
and void. 

A. Foster, (l. s.) 

Wm. E. Laight, (l. s.) 
N. Bloodgood, (l. s.) 
Wm. Edgar. {l. s.) 

Having concluded the reading of this bond, and made one of the covenanted bows, 
Commodore Stevens resumed his seat amid peals of merriment. 

General Webb rose to call the attention of the Chair to the evident intention, on 
the part of the President of Columbia College, to withdraw from the tables without 
permission ; but he hoped that he would not be permitted to leave until the toast 
which he was about to offer, had been drunk by the company. " In meeting on this 
occasion, in honor of the glorious achievements of the America and the gentlemen 
who so admirably guided and directed her movements in the old world, we all unite 
in looking upon her triumph as the triumph of the Science of Naval Architecture. 
That it has become a science, and owes its success to the scientific knowledge of our 
ship-carpenters, as well as to their Yankee cleverness, all will freely admit. It is 
proper, therefore, that on this occasion, we should remember the Institutions of 
learning in our city, believing as I do, that to the science, and knowledge, and 
enlightened intelligence of our mechanics, we owe as much of this triumph as we do 



118 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 

to their genius. I am impelled too, to give you a toast in honor of our Literary 
Institutions, because on this occasion the most venerable of them, and the one most 
dear to New Yorkers, is represented by a gentleman who is intimately known to, 
and held in high regard by, every individual present. This emphatically is a New 
York assemblage ; and its character cannot be better illustrated than by quoting the 
remark of the gallant officer of the Navy on your right, when I first met him this 
evening. ' How is it,' said he, ' that while I walk the streets of New York daily, 
without meeting with faces that are known to me even by sight, I here, in an 
assemblage of more than a hundred, do not see a face that is unknown to me V 
The answer was obvious. The New York Yacht Club is principally composed of 
those whom he knew ' long time ago' as boys ; and those boys are delighted to 
have here among them their friend, the President of Columbia College. Arrest his 
departure, therefore, Mr. President, while we drink to the prosperity of all the 
scientific and literary institutions of our city." 

Calls being made upon the President of Columbia College, Mr. Charles King 
obeyed the summons, and said he did so with the more pleasure, as it enabled him 
to express his sense of the honor conferred, by the invitation to be present at such a 
festival, when a national triumph (for such he considered it,) was associated with the 
names of old and valued friends. 

As the President of the College, he said he felt the compliment to the Institution 
— a compliment which, aside from any consideration for the person occupying the 
Chair of the President, was grateful in associating letters with the practical triumphs 
of daily life — thus adding grace and refinement to them, while the association 
benefited letters in turn by showing that they were not confined to the cloister, 
nor unobservant of, or unsympathizing with, every day life. 

But on this occasion Columbia College had a special interest, for your honorable 
guests, Mr. President, are our own boys — they are sons of Columbia — and there the 
one, the Commodore, learned — for we teach such things — the science of navigation 
and ship-building — and the other, his fluent speech and ready knowledge. Sir, your 
Commodore was graduated A. B. from our College, and those magic letters may 
now typify alike Bachelor of Arts, as Accomjrfished Boatman. And not they only, 
but their fathers before them, were of Columbia College. It was from its walls that 
the young Alexander Hamilton went forth, at the commencement of the Revolution, 
to stir up the hearts" of our people to the maintenance of their rights, and so 
successful was he, that the excellent President of that day — an honest adherent of 
Royalty — became so much alarmed at the popular demonstrations, that he fled in 
haste from the College without Academic gown or cap, and it is said without 
even more essential garments — to take refuge on board a King's ship in the roads. 
This, by the by, is a rather impolitic story for the President of a College to tell — 
who should seem above the reach or influence of tumult stirred up by. his scholars 
— but such is the truth of history. 

So, too, beneath our Academic groves, John Stevens meditated the various and 
most ingenious conjectures in mechanical science, which enabled him before any 
Steam Locomotive existed, to perfect in his own mind, a system of railways worked 
by steam — and finally to realize this system in the Camden and Amboy Railroad. 

As an American citizen, I am glad to be here and to witness the honor paid to 
those, who, in sportive mood, indeed, and in all the courtesy and high bearing of 
the gallant knights of old, have struck a blow, of which the consequences, and the 
benefits, and the renown, are national. For this victory of the American yacht in 
the narrow seas — mare nostrum — the peculiar domain of England — is a national one. 
It rejoiced me as did the first victory of the Constitution, that broke a charm which 
the hoar of ages had consecrated ; this, in friendly rivalry shows that our progress 
— as children of the sea, and born for its — if not dominion — at least unchallenged 
use — is ever onward. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 119 

But I must not leave the topic, without adding that defeat was never more frankly 
and courteously ackuowledged than by our English competitors. We rejoice in 
claiming kindred with a race thus magnanimous and fair; and long, very long be it 
before any other than such friendly rivalry and courteous competition shall prevail 
between us. I ask to give as a toast 

Our Modern Argonauts — They have brought home, not the Golden Fleece, but 
that which gold cannot buy, National Renown. 

Here another explosion of enthusiasm, and the toast was cheered 3 to the echo. 

The President, after a few appropriate preliminary remarks, proposed the 
health of 

"The President of the United States." 

This was drunk standing, and with all the honors. Commodore Stevens then 
said, he was sure to have the hearts of the whole company to the toast he was about 
to propose — that of the Sovereign of England, whose gracious visit to the America 
was not one of the least memorable incidents connected with the affair — he proposed 

"Her Majesty the Queen of England." 

The audience rose to their feet at once, and drank this toast with prolonged 
cheers. 

The President next referred to the arrival within twenty-four hours, in our port, 
of one of the vessels fitted out by the munificence of a New York merchant, who, 
he was happy to add, was also a member of the club. We had all sympathized — 
as what generous heart would not — in the fears or in the hopes of Lady Franklin, and 
all rejoiced when one of our own citizens, a retired merchant, determined to fit out, 
at his own expense, another expedition of humanity. The government had 
cooperated with him. Gallant spirits, belonging to our navy, were found eager to 
embark on the perilous enterprise, from which they had now returned unsuccessful 
— but not unsuccessful from any lack of daring or of skill, or of endurance, but because 
the elements were stronger than man. We had hoped for the pleasure here to-day 
of the commander, Captain De Haven, but, unfortunately for us, he was unable to 
attend. We have among our guests, however, him to whom was committed not the 
least interesting or responsible charge in this expedition — the surgeon — on whose 
skill and care so much was to depend, and who has the satisfaction of bringing back, 
without loss of life or limb, every human being that sailed with him. I propose 

" The health of Surgeon Kane, of the United States Navy." 

This toast was warmly welcomed. 

Dr. Kane, in rising to reply, said very modestly, that he was not at all a speaker, 
and that the call upon him for a speech was very unexpected. He could not, however, 
but attempt, in behalf of his comrades and himself, to express the grateful sense he 
entertained of so warm a welcome ; the whole scene, and, indeed, the occurrence to 
which it related, were almost like a dream to him, who for more than a year had 
been out of reach of the civilized world, cut off from all communication with it, and 
uninformed of all its proceedings. Within this time, the Collins steamers, the fly- 
ing clipper ships, and the yacht America had sprung into existence, and won their 
triumphs ; and no one, unless similarly situated with himself, could at all appreciate 
the feelings of strangeness and novelty, as well of delight, with which he heard of 
all these things. He rejoiced in every thing showing the enterprise and liberality of 
his countrymen, and would beg to conclude with a toast to the names of G-rinnell, 
Collins, and Stevens, as worthy of all remembrance and honor. 

Hearty cheers greeted the remarks and toast. 

Mr. Chas. A. Davis, second Vice President, after calling attention to the name 
of the builder of the yacht America, and referring to the remarkable skill and en- 
terprise of our ship builders generally, offered this sentiment : — 

" The mechanics and artisans employed in the construction and outfit of the 



120 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE AVORLD's FAIR. 

yacht America — By their science, skill, and taste, they have added honor to the 
country." 

No toast of the evening was more warmly received. When the applause had sub- 
sided, on a general call, — 

Moses H. Grinnell rose to return thanks in behalf of those of whose good qualities 
and rare skill he knew so much ; there were others in the room who could do this 
better than himself, but being called upon he would not hold back from doing his 
part; he thought this a just compliment to our shipwrights, who had no superiors 
either in character, or fidelity, or skill any where. Mr. Grinnell dwelt at consider- 
able length, and with much earnestness upon the benefits which our city and coun- 
try had derived, and were always deriving, from this class of our citizens ; and con- 
cluded his remarks with a toast to one of the most eminent among them : — 

"Wm. H. Webb — Drunk with great applause. 

When quiet was restored, the President gave — 

" The Navy of the United States." 

This was loudly cheered; and calls were made for Commodore Kearney and Com- 
modore Perry. The former, as the senior, returned thanks in behalf of the service, 
though somewhat taken aback, he said, in doing so. He did it very well, never- 
theless. 

The next toast from the chair was — 

"The Army of the United States." 

Which was received with great applause, and replied to in a few fitting remarks 
by Major Fraser, of the U. S. A. 

Mr. Foster, after an appropriate preface, proposed — 

" The health of Vice Commodore Wilkes, Mr. George L. Schuyler, and Mr. J 
Beekman Finlay, the spirited members of the New York Yacht Club, who were as- 
sociated in the purchase and equipment of the America, but were prevented from 
joining their companions in the cruise." 

Mr. Schuyler made a brief and happy reply. 

And here we bring our narration to a close, leaving much unsaid that might be 
said of speeches, toasts, and clever repartees, at this most agreeable and most suc- 
cessful of entertainments, at which the warmest feelings of personal friendship and 
of patriotic pride were very freely indulged, without one spark of unkindness or in- 
tolerance towards a kindred and friendly people. On. the contrary, no portion of 
the evening's speeches was more warmly applauded than that which detailed the 
friendly courtesies displayed on the other side, and which uttered aspirations that 
two such people may ever be friends. 

AVe have no hesitation in saying that the Dinner Table on this occasion was the 
most elegant we ever saw; and, altogether, the Dinner, in style and sumptuousness, 
has never been equalled on this continent. 

There are a few inaccuracies in the foregoing report, which the following note 
from Col. Hamilton corrects : 

To the Editors of the Courier and Enquirer. 

In your report of my remarks at the Complimentary Dinner to the owners of the 
yacht America, I am represented to have said, " The offer (by the Admiral, of a 
Pilot) was as frankly accepted as it was honorably made," whereas I said when re- 
ferring to the unlimited acts of kindness and courtesy we received on all hands, and 
to the characteristic love of fair play of our opponents, we had been urged, in writing, 
by a gentlemen at Southampton, to take an additional pilot, to supervise the pilot who 
was engaged by us on our arrival, to which offer I replied in the name of our Com- 
modore that delicacy did not permit him, by manifesting any distrust of our pilot, to 
wound his feelings or character, and that in this same generous spirit our Commo- 
dore declined the offer of the gallant Admiral. I must beg the favor of you, by 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 



121 



publishing this note, or in some other way, to relieve me from the unpleasantness 
of appearing to have made a statement so very erroneous and so unjust to our faith- 
ful and excellent pilot, Mr. Underwood. 

Allow me to add, that in the excellent speech of Commodore Stevens, it is said, 
" In the race for the Queen's Cup, there were, I think, seventeen entries," &c, 
whereas the fact is, we gave notice to Commodore Ackers, that we did not intend to 
start for the Queen's Cup. The Cup we won was that which was offered and given 
by the Royal Yacht Squadron, and which he brought home with him. 
I remain, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

James A. Hamilton. 

Nevis, Dobbs' Ferry Post Office, October 3rd, 1851. 



From the London Punch. 

PALMER'S LEGS. 

N American gentleman 
named Palmer, having 
lost one of his own lower 
limbs, has invented a leg, 
with which he walks as 
well, dances as well, rides 
as well, kicks as well, as 
with the original member. 
We hear that bushels of 
legs are ordered for Chel- 
sea and Greenwich Hos- 
pitals ; and that the ser- 
vices are very much an- 
noyed, because persons 
losing a limb will not be 
pensioned in future, but 
will be refitted and sent 
back to active duty in 
their ships and regiments. 
Admiral Lopp and 
Colonel Hopper, C. B., 
at the United Service 
Club, have expressed 
their determination to 
have each his leg taken off (the Admiral suffering much from gout, and the Colo- 
nel, who is still the dandy of 1815, from a tight boot and corns), and to wear no- 
thing but American legs for the future. 

A council of footmen has been held at the Wheel of Fortune, Mr. Jeames in 
the chair. Several gentlemen who are out of place, and thin about the calves, have 
expressed their determination to amputate against the season, and are going into the 
Saint George's Hospital forthwith. It is thought that families requiring tall 
footmen, will be better pleased to have uniform legs behind a carriage, than the un- 
equal calves, the thick ankles, and the unartificial stuffing, which so often disgrace 
the footboards of the aristocracy. 

The Corps de Ballet is much excited. Miss Bandinelli talks about chloroform 
and the knife, which a young Surgeon of Guy's offers to employ gratis ; Mesdem- 

16 



y 




122 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

oiselles Knox, Crookshanks, Spindle and Lankey propose to remedy the 
defects of nature by having recourse to this admirable American artist. 

Indeed, Mr. Palmer thinks that he can perfect his invention, and construct not 
only legs, but whole bodies, which will perform perfectly ; execute pirouettes, entrechats, 
and so forth; sigh, grin, pant, leer, and ogle as well as the very best coryphees. 
And we hear that Mr. Lumley is in treaty for six dozen of these danseuses, which 
will perform in the ballets perfectly : which, after the first expense, will cost the 
enterprising Impresario nothing : which will never quarrel, tattle, or use bad lan- 
guage behind the scenes : which, if they sprain their ankles, can be mended easily, 
in ten minutes, by the Carpenter of the Theatre : which will not lead young noble- 
men and men of fashion astray : and which, if wanted, can be hired out for parties 
to Greenwich, Richmond, &c, perfectly dressed, and capable even of taking cham- 
pagne, lobster-salad, &c, as well as the present ornaments of the Tcrpsichorean 
stage. 

And they will not grow old, thin, fat, ugly, as the best of the living machines 
must do: and when gentlemen are tired of them, can be put away without any in- 
convenience. 

After this jeu d % esprit from our friend Punch, on this very valuable invention, 
we give below an extract from the Foreign Correspondence of the Philadelphia 
North American and United States Gazette, during the Great Exhibition. 

Messrs. Editors : 
It is exceedingly gratifying to me, as an American, to find that the inventions of 
my countrymen are properly appreciated in England by practical men. The master- 
critic may sneer, and pronounce American ingenuity and skill worthless, but the 
public are, after all, the great judges. Having referred to Colt's pistols, Newell's 
Lock and McCormick's Reaper, and shown how highly they are appreciated here, 
I will proceed to inform you, that a talented Philadelphian is creating a world wide 
celebrity through a most valuable invention of his own. I refer to Dr. B. Frank 
Palmer who has made a splendid triumph in the Crystal Palace with his patent 
Artificial Leg. In England, it is well known, there are a vast number of persons in 
every rank of life, who have unfortunately been deprived of limbs ; consequently, 
the invention of Dr. Palmer is duly appreciated here. It is the theme of general 
conversation, and is universally admired. It has been said that American ingenuity 
could only copy the English or French in anatomical mechanism. Rut they are 
now shown an American invention, which differs in every respect from any thing 
of the kind they have ever seen, and which is so perfect in its action, as to enable 
the wearer of Palmer's artificial leg, to walk in such a manner as almost entirely 
to conceal his misfortune. That the invention does this, is demonstrated to the satis- 
faction of the most incredulous in Dr. Palmer himself; and I must confess, that I 
have seen that gentleman every week at the Crystal Palace during the last four 
months, and although I noticed that in walking, there was a slight appearance of 
lameness, yet I did not know till recently that he wofe an artificial leg. Dr. Pal- 
mer has an attentive crowd of listeners around his glass cases every day, and they 
examine his specimens with deep interest. Some of the most distinguished sur- 
geons of the metropolis have spoken highly of his invention, and strongly recom- 
mended it. Among the number are Sir Benjamin Brodie, Prof. Ferguson, and 
William Lawrence, F. R. S. President of the Royal College of Surgeons. The 
Medical Faculty generally have also spoken of Dr. Palmer's invention as one of 
great importance. I understand that at a recent conversazione of the Royal College 
of Surgeons, Dr. Palmer was a guest, and was specially invited to explain the merits 
of his invention ; a member of Parliament being present, he requested Mr. B. B. 
Cooper to introduce him to Dr. Palmer, when he ordered one of his artificial legs 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 123 

for himself. The London agent for the invention informs me that he has received 
orders during the last six weeks to the value of one thousand pounds, and they are 
constantly increasing. Prof. Ferguson recently introduced the Marquis of Anglesey 
to Dr. Palmer, and he examined this invention with the deepest interest, and pro- 
nounced it a very great improvement over any he had seen. M. Roux, Surgeon to 
the Hotel Dieu, whilst on a recent visit to the Crystal Palace, and M. Lallemand, 
invited Dr. Palmer to visit Paris ; and M. Charrier and M. Luer, surgical instru- 
ment makers of Paris, have applied for the patent for France. The London agent 
is about to open a manufactory here on a large scale. There are artificial limbs in 
the Exhibition, from about thirty of the most renowned manufacturers in the world, 
but Palmer's artificial leg is acknowledged to be unapproached, either in utility, 
symmetry of form, or beauty of action or finish. The fact that the jurors have re- 
commended the FIRST CLASS MEDAL PRIZE to be awarded to this invention, is 
the best proof of its value. 

Another testimonial, one of the highest indeed that can be given, since it comes 
from the eminent Surgeon, G. J. Guthrie, Esq., Ex-President of the Royal College 
of Surgeons, is the following : 

London, September 30, 1851. 
Sir : — I have no hesitation in stating that I consider your Patent Artificial Leg 
to be the best invention I have yet seen — the most useful, and the least distinguish- 
able from the natural leg. 

I am, dear Sir, your very ob't serv't, 

G. J. GUTHRIE. 
B. Frank Palmer, Esq. 

The London Times of Sept. 19, 1851, speaks of it in the strongest terms, as fol- 
lows : 

We have to introduce to the notice of the public another triumph of American in- 
genuity included in that department of the Exhibition, but which in some way or 
other has hitherto escaped observation. The Marquis of Anglesey will hear with a 
feeling of satisfaction, that if our cousins beat us in yacht-building, they are equally 
pre-eminent in the manufacture of artificial legs. In the latter branch of industry 
their superiority will not be grudged, and they really owe society some act of repa- 
ration for having introduced among us Colt's revolvers. The artificial leg patented 
by Mr. Palmer, is, in its way, a most admirable, ingenious, and philanthropic con- 
trivance, and its invention is so remarkably characteristic of the country from whence 
it comes, that we cannot resist the temptation of inviting attention to it. The 
patentee, in some way or other, lost his leg, and, having tried the best substitutes 
hitherto devised for such a case, like a true American, he set himself to think 
whether he could not improve upon them. His study of the subject was crowned 
with the most striking success, and he exemplifies that success in his own person by 
walking about almost without any perceptible lameness, and with an apparent ease 
and comfort which are truly surprising. He publishes annually at Philadelphia a 
journal, which he calls Palmer's Patent Artificial Leg Reporter and Surgical Ad- 
juvant. This curiously entitled periodical accompanied a specimen of the leg to 
the Exhibition, and the 1st chapter of vol. 3, No. 1, we find commenced by this 
heading, " Fugitive thoughts on amputation." From another chapter, entitled "Sy- 
nopsis of the invention," we gather that it is distinguished by its perfect combination 
of lightness with strength, and by the extraordinary fidelity with which it imitates 
nature. Having closely examined it, we can testify to its merits on all the leading 
points specified, nor have we any reason to doubt that the enamelled surface of this 
leg, as stated " is rivalled only by the mechanism of nature, and that a lady may wear 
silk hose and slippers without betraying the loss she has sustained." Mr. Palmer 



124 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE AVORLD's FAIR. 

has received extepsive orders for his patent in this country, and the public may 
soon expect to see timber-toed veterans no more stumping about Greenwich or 
Chelsea. The dentist who fills the beauty's mouth with a set of pearly tcetli, and 
the artist who dyes the grey or red head, and covers baldness with an artificial pro- 
fusion of locks, have now added to their amiable deceptions those of the American 
artificial leg, which may occasionally lead to awkward mistakes, but cannot fail to 
be regarded as a great boon to suffering humanity. 



BRITAIN'S VERDICT. 

The crowning triumph of American genius may perhaps be found in the amended 
temper of the English press, since they have been forced to admit our supremacy in 
mechanical skill, whether tried on land, in the lists of Hyde Park, or on water with 
the Baltic and America. Their admissions, unquestionably, flow with the viscidity 
of the " Thames 'neath London Bridge :" they have all the punch-like raciness of 
mingled sugar and lemon ; all the courtesy — nationally characteristic — of a beaten 
gamester, entirely and hopelessly cleaned out. But for all that, they are quite 
acceptable, and much to be thankful for. If we fail to appreciate them duly, it ar- 
gues a sad deficiency of taste to offset superabundance of invention. 

We are nationally vain. Young people are apt to be, and though the head may 
be old, the shoulders beneath it are still youthful. Approbativeness, as in all pursuit- 
of-knowledge-under-difficulty folks, swells like an iceberg on that same national cra- 
nium. " Some steeds," says Savage Landor, " go best in silence, with no other im- 
pulse than the spur and gad ; others require the shouting and hand-clapping of the 
Roman Corso." We are of the latter sort, and if our juvenile energies, aiming as 
they steadily do, to the mastery of the true and the attainment of the beautiful, 
are stimulated by the applauding cry of spectators, in Heaven's name let the wel- 
kin ring. Praise, even if it exceed due appreciation, is never objectionable : let 
them lavish it as they may, but let us pass on. 

And one word more, not the less important because uttered curtly. Reflecting 
men will not fail to note the gigantic proportions of American productions, when 
set down beside the last efforts of British mechanism. Boasting less of the results 
than of the means displayed to achieve yet greater works, we are satisfied with 
pointing to what the " Times" once sneeringly designated as " mere machinery " 
Our implements are made to act where wider elbow-room and less labor arc afforded ; 
our steamships and pleasure yachts tell of longer stretches to be spanned; and per- 
haps the old fling at the magnificent distances of the American Capital embodies 
the form-type of the American character. For the magnitude of our entcrprizes, 
John Bull has more wonder than sympathy. Our pieces are adapted to a larger 
theatre. American agricultural machinery would presently turn half their farm la- 
bor adrift. The American steam navy is a prophecy of the disuse of many a long- 
lived Indiaman or slow-paced South Sea trader; and to our clipper fleet all the 
British sea-craft will have to give way. To Americanize British land and sea ma- 
chinery would half revolutionize Britain ; and our patterns, after all, would be like 
the vicar's picture, too large for the house. At least so says Yankee vanity ; what 
if its crest does swell a trifle at our blushing honors ? 

From Ex-President Tyler's speech at the Rochester Festival : 
We seek only to contest the palm of improvement. Do you doubt that the bril- 
liant victory of the yacht America over the long established fleets of Great Britain 
caused the heart of every Virginian to beat with pleasure, and we believe that the 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'' S FAIR. 125 

same emotion animated your breasts, when Virginia produced at the World's Fair a 
Keaper that has outstripped all the farming implements ever manufactured in Eng- 
land. 



PEACE VERSUS WAR. 

Hon. H. Greeley, of the New York Tribune, in one of his letters from London 
during the Exhibition, thus discourses in relation to the great change working in 
the world, through the enlightening spirit of knowledge and philanthropy : 

The world, happily for it, has at last attained such a measure of wisdom that it 
begins to estimate human actions at something like their true relative importance. 
Hitherto Destroyers have almost monopolized the pages of history and the admiration 
of the multitude. Creators and Builders are henceforth to be the honored heroes. 
Look at the Crystal Palace for an illustration. Half the civilized world rings with 
the praise of an ungainly Reaping Machine, which was at first the ridicule of the 
London press, but which, on trial, commanded a warmer admiration than the 
thousand and one beautiful knick-knackeries exhibited. 

In his introduction to the volume of letters written by that gentleman during his 
visit to Europe last year (1851), and lately published, he makes an excellent 
discrimination in our triumphs and our short-comings, at the Great Exhibition, as 
follows : 

A word of explanation as to the " World's Fair." The letters which refer to the 
great Exhibition of Industry, were mainly written when the persistent and unsparing 
disparagement of the British Press, had created a general impression, that the 
American Exposition was a mortifying failure, and when even some of the Americans 
in Europe, taking their cue from that Press, were declaring themselves " ashamed 
of their country" because of such failure. Of course, these letters were written to 
correct the then prevalent errors. More recently, the tide has completely turned, 
until the danger now imminent is that of extravagant, if not groundless exultation; 
so that this Pair would be treated somewhat differently if I were now to write about 
it. The truth lies midway between the extremes already indicated. Our share in 
the Exhibition was creditable to us as a nation not yet a century old, situated three 
to five thousand miles from London; it embraced many articles of great practical 
value, though uncouth in form and utterly unattractive to the mere sight-seer ; other 
nations will profit by it and we shall lose no credit ; but it fell far short of what it 
might have been, and did not fairly exhibit the progress and present condition of 
the Useful Arts in this country. We can and must do better next time, and that 
without calling on the Federal Treasury to pay a dollar of the expense. 



YOUNG AMERICA AND OLD ENGLAND. 

An English ship-builder named Mare, not satisfied with the discomfiture of the 
Royal Yacht Squadron, sent a challenge to Commodore Stevens, of the New York 
Yacht Club, to try the Yankee speed and bottom once again, in the British seas. 
The gallant Commodore of the Young America, like a modest man, cannot think 
of beating John Bull twice in his own waters — but politely invites Mr. Mare to 



126 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

visit the New York seas, where Old England will be received with every degree of 
hospitality, and be done for in first rate style. Here is the reply : 
To the Editor of the New York Herald. 

SlR : — Observing in your paper (as copied from the United Service Journal,) an 
invitation, said to have been addressed by Mr. Mare to the " Commodore of the 
New York Yacht Club, or to any gentleman in America," I have taken the liberty 
to supply what it seems, by some accident or omission to want, viz. ; the answer to 
it. A letter was received by Commodore Stevens, from a member of the Iloyal 
Western Yacht Club, enclosing an invitation from Mr. Mare to the Commodore of 
the New York Yacht Club, or any other parties in America, to compete, at Cowes, 
with a yacht he (Mr. Mare) would construct for the purpose. It conveyed, also, 
the delicate rebuke of Mr. Mare to Lord De Blaquiere, for his utter disregard of 
comfort and decided want of taste, in purchasing a vessel so devoid of the hitherto 
sine qua non of a British yacht. 

J. C. S. 

The answer was to this effect : 

" I regret it will not be in my power to accept the proposal of Mr. Mare, as I 
have at present no intention of visiting England again the ensuing season, nor can 
I learn that any of the members of the New York Yacht Club intend doing so. 
For myself, then, I must beg leave to decline the invitation of Mr. Mare to meet 
him at Cowes. 

" You have the America in your waters, and when Mr. Mare builds a yacht of 
superior speed, and with comforts and accommodations (but which, from his apparent 
estimate of them, I presume he has not seen,) excelling those of the America, we 
shall be most happy to give him a trial for the sum he mentions, whenever he will 
do us the favor of returning the visit I had the honor of paying the Royal Yacht 
Squadron at Cowes. 

" I should fear the repetition of a visit unreturned might be deemed an intrusion, 
or want of etiquette. With the hope that yourself or Mr. Mare, or some others 6f 
your enterprising yachtmen, will put it in our power to return the many courtesies 
aud civilities received during our stay in England, 

"I remain yours, &c, 

"JOHN C. STEVENS. 

" To Samuel Trescott, Esq., Member of the Royal Western Yacht Club." 



GENIUS OF HIRAM POWER. 

The annexed elegant tribute to the genius of the great American Sculptor, is from 
the Wilmington (N. C.,) Herald. 

Of course we paid a visit to the Greek Slave. Who has not ? It is one of the 
triumphs of American genius. As pure in expression as the marble which seems in- 
stinct with life, as perfect in grace and proportion as the divinity of nature, she stands 
a mute yet eloquent embodiment of a poet's dreams in all their prodigality of love- 
liness. In the completeness of expression, position, conception and execution there 
is but one attribute away — the soul. And naught save a gentle yet proud spirit 
could animate so fair a creation. 

" Beautiful is that snow white brow, 

And the thoughtful eye beneath : 
She heeds not the throng that surrounds her now, 

She hears not the slightest breath, 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 127 

But away from all, she is wandering free 

With the unforgotten band, 
That will clasp no more on this stormy shore, 

That beautiful, fettered hand. 

She thinks not now of the shadows deep, 

That will hover dim and dark 
O'er the sea of life, nor the cold, wild waves 

That must toss her broken bark; 
She looks beyond with a dreamy eye, 

To a shore where grief is not, 
Where the pain and strife of this fettered life, 

Will forever be forgot." 

The art of sculpture is the gift nearest the throne of Omnipotence. Painting is 
glorious, — to spread upon the canvas the bright creations of genius, and blend into 
a magic whole the varying tints ; to represent the passions and affections in their 
wildest and sweetest action, is wondrous and sublime indeed, but after all it is a 
daub, mere paint ; but sculpture is creation, the figure stands before you perfect 
save the divinity within, that wondrous mystery visible alone at Heaven's golden 
gates. The Greek Slave is as near perfection as the hand of art can attain. 
CWhen we called, there were several bachelors present, and the discussion arose 
upon the propriety of exhibitions of this character./ You see, Sophy, or Dicy, or 
whatever her name is, the Greek Slave, though a very pretty girl, is not fashiona- 
bly dressed; not at all, she's naturally dressed; we can't say much concerning her 
dress, because she hadn't any to speak about, and this disregard on her part of all 
the conventionalities, should it deprive her of the company of Ladies ? That was 
the question. ;^The unanimous conclusion, on the part of the bachelors, was-^hat it 
should not^that there was a great deal of mock modesty in this world, and that it 
was wasteful and ridiculous excess to clothe a piano merely to hide its legs? An- 
other conclusion to which the aforesaid bachelors arrived was this, that if nature had 
produced living counterparts of this glorious model, they were in danger. The Ad- 
miral distinctly said so, or we are much mistaken, and kept on muttering " a beau- 
tiful girl I" "a beautiful girl by the Powers !" 



AMERICAN PROGRESS. 

The following is from the London Observer, and is not a little flattering to our 
feelings : — 

Our cousins across the Atlantic cut many degrees closer to the ground than we do 
in seeking for markets. Their industrial system, unfettered by ancient usage, and 
by thepomp and magnificence which our social institutions countenance, is essen- 
tially democratic in its tendencies. They produce for the masses, and for a whole- 
sale consumption. There is hardly any thing shown by them which is not easily 
within the reach of the most moderate fortune. No Government of favoritism raises 
any manufactures to a pre-eminence, which secures for it the patronage of the wealthy. 
Every thing is entrusted to the ingenuity of individuals, who look for their 
reward to public demand alone. With an immense command of raw produce, they 
do not, like many other countries, skip over the wants of the many, and rush to sup- 
ply the luxuries of the few. 

On the other hand, they have turned their attention eagerly and successfully to 
machinery, as the first stage in their industrial progress. They seek to supply the 
shortcomings of their labor market, and to combine utility with cheapness. The most 
ordinary commodities are not beneath their notice, and even nursery chairs are in- 



128 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE "WORLD'S FAIR. 

eluded in their collection of " notions." They have beaten us in yacht building, 
they pick our best locks, they show us how to reap corn by machinery, and to make 
Brussels carpet by the power-loom. ^ Our coopers will hear with dismay, and our 
brewers with satisfaction, that by an invention of theirs, recently introduced into 
the Exhibition, one man can do the work of twenty in stave-making, and far more 
efficiently. Such triumphs do not affect, perhaps, the mechanical superiority of the 
mother country, but they serve to show that, while on the one side nations less free 
and enlightened than ours teach us how to throw a lustre and grace over the peace- 
ful arts, our own children are now and then able to point out how we can improve 
and extend them. 



COUNCIL AND PRIZE MEDALS. 

Some dissatisfaction was felt by our Commissioners that more Council Medals were 
not awarded to our exhibitors, and a correspondence on the subject took place be- 
tween Hon. Ashbel Smith, of Texas, and Dr. Lyon Playfair, Special Commissioner 
of Juries. All is explained in the following article by Hon. Horace Greeley, taken 
from the New York Tribune : 

Hon. Ashbel Smith, of Texas, appears in the Journal of Commerce, as a remon- 
strant against the bad taste and perverse judgment of the Council of Chairmen in 
not awarding to our countryman, Hiram Power, a Great Medal for his "Greek 
Slave," and one to Mr. Samuel Colt for his imposing display of Revolvers, — said bad 
taste and perverse judgment being in good part attributable, he more than insinu- 
ates, to the absence from* his post of duty of " Mr. Horace Greeley," the only mem- 
ber of the Council of Chairmen accorded to the United States. He expressly dis- 
claims any imputation on the said Greeley, for his absence ; still, in view of the 
fact of such absence, Mr. Smith felt constrained to address a letter by way of pro- 
test against the aforesaid non-awards, to " Dr. Lyon Playfair, Special Commissioner 
of Juries," which letter Mr. S. prints in the Journal of Commerce, but not the 
reply of Dr. Playfair, which does not seem to have been very satisfactory or flatter- 
ing. 

We quite agree with Mr. Smith in the opinion that the Greek Slave deserved a 
Council Medal, — we believe the Council would have cheerfully concurred in that 
opinion. If it is intended to be made evident, that Mr. Ashbel Smith would have 
been a better choice than that actually made for a member of the Council, on behalf 
of the United States, we will agree to that also ; though we cannot concur in Mr. 
Smith's averment that the actual Chairman left England " at an early date after the 
organization of the Juries of the Great Exhibition." Said Chairman was absent 
on the Continent a part of the Summer, but not for a day until his Jury had com- 
pleted its own investigations and made up its awards, and he was again in London 
and in the Council, some few weeks previous to the date (Aug. 25th) of Mr. Smith's 
letter to Dr. Playfair, and at the time when most of the Council Medals were 
awarded. The awards of the Council were definitely made up and closed during 
said Chairman's latter tarry in London. 

But had his knowledge in the premises been at all proportionate to his zeal, Mr. 
Ashbel Smith must have known that the Council could not award medals to articles 
regularly classified and passed upon by the appropriate Juries, except upon the recom- 
mendation of said Juries, sustained by the appropriate Sections of Juries. Surely, 
then, it became Mr. Smith to inquire whether the Jury had any OPPORTUNITY to 
make such awards in favor of Messrs. Power and Colt, as he deems unjustly with- 
held, before he deals out protests and censures affecting the fidelity of one and the 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 129 

perspicacity and justice of all. It would have been so easy for Mr. Smith, (him- 
self a Juryman) to have ascertained what were the facts in the premises, that we 
do not think he was justified in first remonstrating with Dr. Playfair, and after- 
wards arraigning the Council and its American member through the Press, without 
first enlarging his stock of knowledge on the subject. 

Mr. Smith is probably aware that the whole spirit of the Exhibition, as well a^ 
of its authors and managers, were averse to any generosity or award in behalf of the 
inventors of implements of carnage and destruction. Thus, in the class of articles 
coming under our cognizance as a Juror, there were a number of cannon, and pro- 
bably some other death-dealing instruments ; but they were expressly sub- 
mitted for award as castings, and judged as such, with no acknowledged reference 
to their death-dealing efficiency. We have no doubt, though the merits of Colt's 
Kevolvers did not come in any manner before us for adjudication, that their failure 
to receive a higher reward is explained by this fact. Certainly that failure was in 
no manner attributable to the Council. 

The case of most decided injustice to an American which came under our notice 
was that of A. C. Hobbs, (whose famous Lock has recently been operated upon in 
vain by an English expert, and given up as impregnable, after a fortnight's trial to 
pick or open it.) He, ought to have received a Council medal, and we are confident 
would have received it, if the Council had had a chance to grant it ; but it had not. 
Nor was the non-receipt the fault of the Jury (Class XXII.) which examined 
and passed upon it, for that Jury recommended his Lock for a Council Medal, but 
was overruled in a meeting of the Section (consisting of the five or six Juries having 
cognizance of Classes nearest akin to Class XXII.) We believe that outside influ- 
ence, exerted on Jurors of the Section by British and French Locksmiths, influenced 
this decision 3 but it must be remembered that Mr. Hobbs had not then opened the 
famous Bramah Lock, nor demonstrated the insecurity of Chubb's in a public trial, 
nor had his own lock been exposed to the craft of any one who saw fit to attempt 
picking it for a'reward of $1,000, all of which have occurred since the Section over- 
ruled the Jury's recommendation of a Council Medal. Were his merits now sub- 
jected to the same ordeal, we have no doubt of a triumphant result. 

A single point remains, on which we must dissent from Mr. Smith's views. He 
seems to regard each Foreign Chairman, as in some sort an advocate or champion for 
the Exhibitors of his own Country, bound to exert all possible influence to obtain 
for them as many awards as possible. We did not accept the appointment, nor act 
under it, with any such view of its duties. We would far sooner an American in- 
ventor should have failed to receive a Conncil Medal, for an article really deserving 
it, than that an American should have been awarded a Council Medal unworthily. 
We know that some Jurors did evince a clannish, selfish desire to secure as many 
Medals for their countrymen 'as possible ; but we could not respect the disposition, 
nor do we think it proved advantageous to those in whose behalf it was manifested. 
What we deemed our duty, and attempted to do, was to set fairly and clearly before 
the constituted Judges in any case, the merits of each American invention or product, 
and leave those judges to pass upon it as they should think fit, without manifesting 
any personal anxiety as to what their award should be. We are still satisfied that 
this was the best course, whether with an eye to the interests of American exhibit- 
ors, or the credit of the American people. If another occasion should be presented, 
we should do just so again. 



17 



130 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 



CLOSE OF THE GREAT EXHIBITION 

The Boston Post, in giving publicity to the following correspondence between 
Mr. Riddle, the United States Commissioner, and the Executive Committee of the 
Great Exhibition, appends some judicious remarks, in which we entirely concur. 
We believe that we but reecho the sentiment of the whole republic, in saying that 
some general movement ought to be made, for the purpose of conferring on our 
efficient Commissioner at the World's Fair, some handsome testimonial of the 
nation's appreciation of his services on that occasion : 

United States Office, London, November 8, 1851. 

Gentlemen — As my official duties in the Crystal Palace have now ceased, I shall 
take my departure for America on the 12th inst. I cannot allow myself to go hence, 
without tendering you my sincere and heartfelt acknowledgments, for the many acts 
of kindness, courtesy, and attention I have received at your hands, and for the 
uniform promptness with which you have responded to all communications emanating 
from this commission. Indeed, in my humble opinion, the success of the Great 
Exhibition may be mainly attributable to the admirable and indefatigable management 
of your committee, and the limited number of gentlemen of which it was composed, 
thereby preventing collisions, which would inevitably have occurred, had the whole 
responsibility been entrusted to a larger body of directors. While I have received 
every assistance from officers under your directions, there is one who has been high 
in authority, and of whom I cannot speak in too high terms of praise. I allude to 
Captain Owen, of the Royal Engineers. The even temper, and calm, dignified 
demeanor he has observed on all trying and pressing occasions, are worthy of the 
highest commendation, and, for one, I am proud to bear witness to the energetic and 
impartial manner in which he has discharged his arduous duties. 

Wishing each and all of you, gentlemen, that continued success to which your 
brilliant talents so justly entitle you, 

I have the honor to subscribe myself, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

EDWARD RIDDLE, 
U. S. Commissioner to the Industrial Exhibition. 

To which letter Mr. Riddle received the following response : 

Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, 1851. 

Office for the Executive Committee, ~) 

Exhibition Building, Kensington Road, V 

London, November 10, 1851. ) 

Sir — I am directed by the Executive Committee to express the pleasure they feel, 
in receiving so flattering a letter as yours of the 8th instant. Its character becomes 
far more complimentary, when they consider that it was written by one who has been 
in such intimate communication with them, and thereby well able to appreciate the 
efforts they made to discharge their duties with satisfaction to all parties. 
I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

G. WARREN DUNCOMBE. 

E. Riddle, Esq., United States Office, Exhibition Building. 

Mr. Riddle has returned to his native country, after having discharged the duties 
of his office in a way alike honorable to himself and to the United States. The 
good judgment, perseverance, and ability he displayed, amid difficulties which would 
have discouraged a less resolute mind, enabled him to surmount all obstacles, and 
to conclude his labors, in a manner that elicits the warmest approbation of his 
associates in the Great Exhibition, and secures the gratitude and respect of his 
countrymen at home. Such services deserve a more substantial token of just 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 131 

appreciation than a bare acknowledgment in words, and we hope they will he 
recognised in a substantial form, by those who are willing to render to distinguished 
merit its appropriate reward. 



GEORGE PEABODY, ESQ. 

If there is any one individual that can be said to unite all suffrages in his favor, 
to whom Americans of every condition and calling, who visited London during the 
Great Exhibition, can look with equal pride and pleasure, and for whom each has 
set aside a niche in his heart, there to lay up his image in grateful remembrance, 
it is this high-souled patriot and large-hearted man. During the season, he might 
almost be said to have kept open house for his countrymen. With a noble sentiment 
of pride in his country's genius and industry, he brought together, in his splendid 
reunions, the most eminent persons in Europe for talent and social position, to meet 
his fellow citizens from all parts of the Union, winning every heart by his unvarying 
urbanity and his surpassing munificence. Mr. Peabody is one of the few who know 
how to use wealth, as well as how to realise it. The following is extracted from the 
New York Spirit of the Times, being the substance of a letter addressed to the 
editor, giving a short account of the last of Mr. Peabody' s magnificent parties : 

GRAND FAREWELL BANQUET TO AMERICANS IN LONDON. 

London, October 31, 1851. 

The Americans at present in London were entertained in a most sumptuous 
manner on Monday last, at the London Coffee House, Ludgate Hill, by George 
Peabody, Esq. This eminent American banker gave a parting dinner to the 
American exhibitors and distinguished Americans ; and he also invited several 
English noblemen and gentlemen of distinction. In Lovegrove's large hall three 
long tables, and one cross-table, were elegantly arranged for the grand banquet. 
The dinner was served in a style of extreme but tasteful profusion. One hundred 
and fifty gentlemen received invitations from Mr. Peabody, and nearly that number 
was present on this occasion. Amongst the guests were, Mr. Lawrence, the 
American Minister, and his son, Colonel Lawrence ; Mr. Davis, Secretary of the 
Legation; Colonel Aspinwall, U. S. Consul; Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer; the Right 
Honorable the Earl of Granville ; Sir Joseph Paxton ; Sir Charles Fox ; the 
Governor of the Bank of England ; Hon. Robert J. Walker ; Mr. Edward Riddle, 
U. S. Commissioner; Mr. C F. Stansbury, and Mr. John R. St. John, 
ex-Commissioners; Sir Henry Ellis; Baron de Vidil; Mr. S. C. Hall; Mr. A. C. 
Hobbs ; Dr. Brewster (the eminent American dentist of Paris) ; General Walbridge ; 
General M'Neill; Mr. Corbin, of Virginia; Mr. Chickering, and the Rev. S. K. 
Lothrop, of Boston ; Colonel Colt; Dr. Black; Messrs. Sturgis and Joshua Bates; 
Mr. Pishey Thompson; Mr. Wyckoff; Mr. R. H. Gould; Mr. Charles H. Peabody; 
Mr. George Sumner; Mr. E. G. Tuckerman; Mr. W. C. Baker, etc., etc. 

Mr. George Peabody took the chair at seven o'clock. The rich viands and old 
wines were most liberally provided, and after the cloth was removed, Mr. Peabody 
sent round the "Loving Cup," which, bye the bye, was elegantly made from a piece 
of oak taken from the homestead of Mr. Peabody's ancestor in America, and from 
the very room in which the chairman was born. Mr. Peabody proposed the health 
of " The Queen," " The President of the United States," " Prince Albert and the 
rest of the Royal Family ;" and after each of these toasts had been heartily responded 



182 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

to in nine cheers, Mr. Corbin, of Virginia, proposed " The Health of the American 
Minister," introducing the toast with a long speech. Mr. Lawrence replied in his 
happiest style, and was frequently interrupted by loud cheers. He spoke of the 
Great Exhibition, and of the American section particularly, and concluded by 
giving as a toast, "The Royal Commissioners/' connecting with it the name of Lord 
Granville. The Earl responded at considerable length. The Hon. Robert J. 
Walker then rose, and proposed the health of Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer. Sir Henry 
replied in a speech marked by good sense, and overflowing with the most friendly 
sentiments towards America and Americans. After a few remarks from Messrs. 
Riddle and Stansbury, Lord Granville proposed the health of Mr. George Peabody, 
when that gentleman said, he rose in all humility — he could scarcely find words 
adequate to express the feelings of his heart. In showing attentions to his 
countrymen, his earnest endeavor had been to promote, to the very utmost, kind 
and brotherly feelings between England and the United States. By giving this 
entertainment to the American exhibitors, he wished to pay a parting tribute to 
their skill, ingenuity, and originality. He sincerely hoped that there would be a 
moral and friendly union between Great Britain and the United States, and that it 
would gather strength with their gathering years. After returning his warmest 
thanks for the toast which had been proposed, he gave " The Health of the Ladies 
of the Old World and the New," which toast was drunk in bumpers, and shortly 
after one o'clock the party separated. 

Mr. Peabody's princely entertainments during the season of 1851, will long be 
remembered by every American who has had the honor of attending them. 

Very truly yours P. 



NEW YORK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY AND THE 
WORLD'S FAIR. 

The New York Agricultural Society, in reference to the triumphs achieved by 
our citizens at the World's Fair, gave a splendid example of the manner in which 
associated bodies should act on such occasions. It has been the custom, from time 
immemorial, among nations, — civilized, semi-civilized, and barbarous — to welcome 
home, by song and feast, and public gratulation, those among its members who re- 
turned from the battle-field crowned with victory. This excellent association, taking 
a judicious lesson from history, and adapting it to the spirit of the age, met at the 
close of the Great Exhibition, and with flattering encomiums, hailed the return of 
their worthy members who had won distinction in the bloodless paths of peace, at 
that grand tournament of skill and industry. The subjoined account of their pro- 
ceedings on that occasion, will be read with high interest : 

ADDRESS. 

On presenting the Medals of the Society to its Members, who received aicards at the 
Great Exhibition in London. 

BY THE PRESIDENT, J. DELAFIELD. 

Gfntlemen — When the invitation from Britain's Queen reached our shores, to 
send the works of our ingenuity and industry for exhibition in London, and in 
competition with like works from other parts of the world, the first impression on 
my mind was adverse to the proposition. This impression originated probably from 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 133 

recollections of the state of art and science and the condition of society in that 
country, during a residence of several years. Aware, also, of the difficulties to be 
encountered, from the impracticability of any well arranged system or unity of 
action among our several States, a faint hope only was indulged that we could return 
from the World's Fair either gratified or satisfied. Viewing the mighty effort, at 
this day — its termination and recorded awards — the wonderful display of art, of 
skill, and of labor — the question may be entertained, whether a preponderance of 
good or evil is to flow from the influence of the well intended undertaking. Honor 
and praise are justly due to Britain's Royal Prince, for the conception and 
accomplishment of the vast design ; a design of benevolence and good will to the 
human race. It is yet too early for any decided benefits or advantages to be 
manifest; neither has time elapsed sufficient to develop the influences fondly 
entertained by many. 

Two distinct characteristics seemed to have stamped their features on the Industrial 
Exhibition. The one is Utility, displayed in objects designed to promote the 
sustenance, the comforts, and the happiness of man ; the other is Ornament and 
Luxury, chiefly combined to stimulate and gratify the senses. 

The first character, Utility, was a distinctive feature in the productions contributed 
by the United States; while Luxurious Ornament highly distinguished the productions 
from Europe and from Asia. 

If these distinctions are true, they are portentous as to the future ; and we may 
well rejoice that our countrymen — that you, gentlemen, who are to receive an 
honorable distinction for talent devoted to Utility — belong to, and are identified with 
the class of benefactors of the human race. 

In all nations, there are persons who unhappily for themselves, disregard knowledge ; 
who, having but little information, are content to live and labor under every 
disadvantage. They never rise above their fellows ; for, as neither pleasure nor 
profit can be derived from them, they are compelled to labor generally with strong 
application of physical force, but none of mind ; they have no idea of the value of 
knowledge, and the paths it opens to honor and wealth. This remark occurs to 
me as I view this mass of Essex county ore. This ore has 70 per cent, of iron. It 
is the rich and valuable ore, taken from the mountain masses belonging to the 
" Adirondac Iron and Steel Company." I have somewhere met with an apt 
illustration of the deficiency of knowledge, and the benefits of its due application, as 
evidenced in the proprietors of the Adirondac Company. (The Results of Machinery.) 
Thus, the man who disregards knowledge " would deny stoutly the existence of a 
knife blade in this massive iron ore ; yet there it certainly is — there it lies, where 
no labor can draw it forth, in the present condition of this ore. Turn this mass, 
shape it as you will, it is neither knife nor steel, nor is it iron; it is but ore. 
Fashion this ore as you may, it will not cut as well as the shell of an oyster ; it needs 
knowledge to separate the iron from the other matter ; labor will not separate it more 
readily, than it will cause wheat to grow productively on a naked granite rock. We 
need to know that heat, intense heat alone, will separate the parts, and give us iron. 
Yet heat alone will not give up the knife blade ; other substances must be added to 
the ore to allow the iron to run as a liquid, escaping from all impurities. Yet this 
iron will not give up the knife-blade ; by other results of knowledge it (the iron) 
must become steel — steel of a peculiar property, and requiring niceties in the process 
which study and knowledge alone can give; it is from this steel the knife blade is 
derived. What an amount of thought, invention, and machinery is necessary to 
produce so simple a thing as a shilling knife ! All the strength of all the men that 
ever lived, could never extract a knife blade from this mass of ore I" And when 
at last the knife blade is brought forth, it may be asked, with much concern, whether 
it is now worth the handle, seeing the cost, the wear and tear of mind, of body, and 
of time consumed in its production. This question is not to be solved, as is 



134 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

sometimes attempted, by speculative theory or forced expedients ; the quantum of 
demand, in fair, free, open competition, must decide it. 

We are said to be a whittling nation ; knife blades are therefore in demand. This 
pleasurable amusement, creating a demand for blades, has so sharpened our wit3 
and extended our knowledge, that we now can reach the blade fitted for whittling, 
and blades for all cutting implements, with a comparative economy, securing to the 
maker a sufficient compensation. But whittling blades are luxuries, not necessaries 
of life, and the production may be pushed too far, like many other non-essential 
objects; or some clever neighbor may exceed us in knowledge, and apply a process 
whereby he can afford to supply blades, undermining our accustomed profits. This 
however, is the result of competition ; it arises from the natural, legitimate, and 
noble contest for the acquisition and application of knowledge, compelling us to 
keep pace with improvement, or to apply the share of knowledge we do possess, to 
6uch objects as from utility or ornament are in request, or to seek some other mode 
of life better suited to our talent. 

As a farmer, these truths are always before me applicable to our calling, whether 
as to the making of knife blades or steam engines — cotton goods or woolen fabrics. It 
is now quite apparent, that when my neighbor applies more knowledge to his soil 
thau I do, he produces greater quantities of wheat or grass from an acre ; and thus, 
wide awake, his profits increase, while mine may recede. So again, like the 
manufacturers, we may collectively produce more wheat than is demanded for a 
season, and the value falls below our accustomed prices and wishes; we cultivate less, 
and in a year find ourselves reinstated in profits ; if not, we turn to other grains or 
other objects connected with the necessities of life, and never fail, in any series of 
years, to find all that our reasonable wishes may require. Eepining or complaining 
is of no avail ; any endeavor to interfere with the free action of near or distant 
neighbors, with a hope of forcing better results to our own mismanaged or ill-judged 
proceedings, is ungenerous, unjust, and unworthy — ever tending to enmity, to the 
benefit of the few, and the disadvantage of the many. These views naturally arise, 
when contemplating the successful organization of associations in our State, entering 
boldly into competition with the manufactures of other nations. It is a proud 
triumph for our industry and sagacity ! Years of success have enriched our Eastern 
neighbors in various departments ; nor are we behind our brethren in the application 
of industry, where circumstances demand its use, and capital finds a safe return by 
its investment. We have an illustration in the movement to produce steel, of 
unsurpassed excellence of qualities, from the mountains of iron ore within our 
borders. 

To the Adirondac Company belongs the honor of establishing, as I am informed, 
the first successful manufacture of cast steel in the United States, and I believe it 
stands alone and unrivalled in this very important business. With a stock recently 
on hand consisting of 300 tons of bar iron, 400 tons of pig metal, 120 tons of cast 
steel in ingots, 50 tons of finished cast steel, 100 tons of quarried iron ore, and other 
property, valued at one million of dollars, this association presents to us extraordinary 
features of utility and power. 

Its products were exhibited at the World's Fair, arranged in section No. 1, class 
No. 1, and for their excellence received from the Commissioners a Prize Medal. 

To you, sir, (A. E. Brown, Esq.,) as representing the Adirondac Iron and Steel 
Company, I now have the pleasure to present the Gold Medal of the New York 
State Agricultural Society, pursuant to a resolution of the Executive Board, passed 
on the 9th day of May last. Your association is also entitled to the Society's Silver 
Medal, for the honorable mention bestowed on your cast iron and steel by the Boyal 
Commissioners : it affords me much pleasure to present to you this additional 
testimonial of excellence. 

Following the order of the sections and classes of the Industrial Exhibition, we 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 135 

find a display of American wheat, presented by Mr. Thomas Bell, of Westchester ; 
another prepared by General Rawson Harmon, of Monroe ; and one other by Mr. 
William Hotchkiss, of Lewiston ; and thirty varieties of Indian Corn, exhibited by 
Mr. B. B. Kirtland, of Rensselaer. 

These varieties of our wheat and corn were arranged in the Crystal Palace, among 
the vegetable and animal products in use as human food. As wheat forms the 
principal nutritious food of the world, claiming the industrious application of labor 
over the greater part of Europe, throughout the temperate regions of Asia, along the 
northern kingdoms of Africa, and extending far into the northern and southern 
regions of the American continents ; as it has been cultivated from time immemorial, 
and has produced in various climates and soils many varieties ; it is surprising, that 
so little is generally known of the distinct varieties best adapted to particular climates 
— it is surprising that in Great Britain, and in our own country and State, we are 
yet to learn the variety which will yield the greatest and best amount of human 
food! 

At the Industrial Exhibition, twenty-six premiums only were distributed for 
specimens of wheat ; of these, five were awarded to British farmers, three to France, 
three to Russia, three to Australia, three to the United States, and one each, or 
severally, to other nations. We have reason to believe that, among the varieties 
sent from this State, one or more were in all respects equal to the best specimen 
exhibited at the World's Fair. 

To Mr. Thomas Bell, of Westchester, much praise is due for zeal and care in 
presenting fine specimens of wheat from this State. 

To General Rawson Harmon, of Western New York, this Society has often been 
indebted for his careful attention to the cultivation and production of many excellent 
varieties of wheat. To each of you, gentlemen, the Society presents a Gold Medal, 
in commemoration of services calculated to extend a better knowledge of our much 
loved State, and increase the means of comfort to man. 

To Mr. William Hotchkiss, the Society is also indebted for his attention to this 
important division of our agricultural cares. To you, sir, the Society has the pleasure 
to present its Silver Medal, in consideration also of the honorable mention of the 
wheat exhibited at the Industrial Exhibition. 

Though wheat is characterized as the most nutritious food for man in all quarters 
of the world, yet the Indian corn crop of the United States is not second in value to 
any product of the earth, cultivated in the Middle and Eastern States of our nation; 
nay, even in the rich cotton growing States, Indian corn is fast rising in importance, 
and will soon equal in value that important commercial product. This indigenous 
grain yields to the nation an annual average of fivehundred millions of bushels ; and 
has, within the last five years, attracted much attention as a life-sustaining food, 
more particularly at the period of Ireland's severe suffering in 1847, and the following 
years. Nations, as well as statesmen and farmers, have found it an object worthy 
of their consideration and esteem. Among the objects of interest exhibited as 
adapted to human food, were thirty-four varieties of Indian corn, presented by Mr. 
B. B. Kirtland, of Cantonment Farm, in Greenbush — an exhibition far more 
important, of greater value and true interest, than the famed diamond (Koh-i-noor), 
or all the jewels of every European crown. To you, sir (Mr. Kirtland), the Society 
presents this Silver Cup, richly merited, not only because of the honor you have 
received from the Royal Commissioners, but also for your unwearied zeal as a member 
of the State Agricultural Society; though unconnected with the matter before us, I 
cannot resist this latter allusion. 

Among the various products which received honorable mention from the Judges 
in London, were specimens of flax and hemp, presented by Mr. E. R. Dix, of Oneida. 
Both are objects of interest and importance to some of the States of the Union. 
Recent discoveries in the art of reducing the vegetable fibre to a condition for easy 



136 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE AVORLD's FAIR. 

manufacture, have drawn additional interest to these substances. Believing, as I 
do, that the soil of this State is to be better and more profitably employed, in the 
production of vegetable matters more congenial to its elements and climatic influences, 
it will probably happen that the valuable and highly important and recent discoveries 
will carry wealth and honor to more western regions, while our expert manufacturers 
will derive from them no less important advantages. To you, sir (Mr. E. R-. Dix), 
the Society presents its Silver Medal, and rejoices in your successful efforts. 

It must be within the recollection of many when a concert of rmisical instruments 
was rare ; when song was only known by a simple ballad in sweet melody ; when 
the attempt to execute a concerto was fatal to the character of the composer, whether 
it was Haydn, Mozart, or Kossini ; the very attempt was barbarous, and the result was 
murderous. The ill-proportioned harpsichord, no longer seen, the tinkling spinnett, 
or the imperfect, small square piano, were the instruments, with few exceptions, in 
the saloons of the wealthy, and in the parlors of those who aimed at the luxuries 
and refinements of life. They were costly luxuries; too costly to admit the application 
of perfected talent. 

How changed our condition ! Years have vanished like moments ; for now, from 
the gilded halls of city wealth and rich refinement, to the wilderness where yet prowls 
the wolf, sweet sounds are heard; Europe's best talent and most gifted powers seek 
eagerly our shores, and find a welcome amid admiring millions — all conversant with 
song ; many, very many, adepts in the science of sound and of harmony. In our 
cities, villages, and hamlets, all do honor alike to the precious gift. Again and 
again it has happened, as the Western traveller threaded his almost pathless track 
amid the forests — mile after mile adding weariness to fatigue — hour after hour, nay, 
whole days, wasting away without the cheer of a human voice — suddenly, when even 
Hope had become faint, he descried in the shadows of evening the dingy form of a 
rude log cabin; his ears were startled by well executed passages from pages of classic 
music, and the sweet cadences of perfect melody. From North to South, from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, the charms and delights of music are discoverable. 

But yet another extraordinary change has recently occurred : Mr. J. Pirsson, of New 
York presented for exhibition a piano at the World's Fair, made in this country, made 
by native hands; this piano was offered in competition with the science, and ages of 
experience, of the Old World; the pupils of a few years growth vying with pupils 
in the home of science ! To you, sir, (Mr. Pirsson,) the Society gladly awards a 
Silver Medal, for the skill and talent whereby an instrument of American manufac- 
ture has drawn forth the honorable mention of the British Commissioners of the 
Crystal Palace. 

And now we turn from thoughts, soothing and pleasurable, to an object — import- 
ant, 'tis true — an object, foreign to the eye of most who are here present; an object, 
the sight of which carries a chill to the heart, beating back the warm blood ; an 
object, which I have no ability to treat with the encomium due to its merits. 

It has been said that the medical profession is " a melancholy attendance on 
misery ;" and again, with more truth, that " the educated physician is ever great in 
liberality, dignified in sentiment, prompt in beneficence, ready to exert a lucrative 
art where no hope of gain exists." So far as our individual experience is a test, 
this declaration is doubtless true in all its force ; and we may add, that the best 
sympathies of nature are his daily attendants, often performing an effective share of 
relief, where knowledge and art have ceased their aid. There is, however, another 
class of men alive to human woe, whose skill in mechanism entitles them to rank 
among the benefactors of their race, and by the happy application of that skill, 
pointing to a position having a connecting link with those men (physicians and sur- 
geons) whose habits lead pre-eminently to the indulgence of deep and comprehensive 
thought. 

These remarks, thus connected, are brought to the mind by the award of a prize 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S EAIR. 137 

Medal by -the Royal Commissioners of the World's Fair to our countryman, Mr. B. 
F. Palmer, for an artificial limb — a work of art approaching, as I am informed, a 
symmetry of form equal to the models of ancient or modern sculpture; possessing, a3 
a mechanism, a beauty of action and a finish hitherto unapproached, and, as an ob- 
ject of utility, to be appreciated as it deserves, only by those who need the aid of 
this ingenious work. 

It is stated that four hundred persons have found ease, comfort, and power of ex- 
ertion by this invention — a number so limited as to distinguish Mr. Palmer for the 
liberality and beneficence which have been described as among the happy attributes 
of educated men ; the love of gain can hardly exist where the means of so great 
benefits are within so small a circle. 

To you, Mr. Palmer, we have the satisfaction of presenting the Gold Medal of 
this Society as a testimony of your skill, and your benevolence to man — for their 
successful application in alleviating misfortune, and restoring comfort and usefulness 
to suffering humanity. 

Among objects not likely to attract the eye, there rested a pile of blocks in the 
American department, unattractive except to the man of science and the educated 
mechanic ; they were specimens of American Woods — blocks of American forest 
trees, selected on the Pelham estate, in Ulster county, the highly cultivated residence 
of Mr. Robert Livingston Pell. 

It has been said that, of all the productions of the earth, loheat is the most im- 
portant for the sustenance of man ', and here we may add, that of all the vegetable 
productions, the various woods of the forest are no less important and essential for 
men's uses and purposes. The consumption of our forests exceeds probably the 
limit of all present estimates. Their value seems to be appreciated by few ; yet 
they are well known to the naturalist, and to those who inhabit the regions of pecu- 
liar products. 

In all ages, man has been pleased with the bright or the strongly contrasted colored 
woods : the temple at Jerusalem was covered with cedar, the palaces of Europe are 
ornamented with strong-grained oak, the residences of our people are beautified with 
the maple, the walnut and the oak of our forests, as well as the mahogany, the san- 
dal wood, the rosewood, and others of foreign climes. 

A single instance of the value of wood, for man's pleasure, will not fail to obtain 
attention ; I allude to the sale of three logs of mahogany, some years ago, to the 
Messrs. Broadwoods, of London. These logs were fifteen feet long, by three feet thick 
— to possess which, the Broadwoods paid the sum of three thousand pounds sterling, 
or about fifteen thousand dollars. 

Well may the too rapid destruction of our forests demand more careful consider- 
ation, to arrest the seeming wanton destruction and waste of millions in amount of 
valuable property , the day is approaching when the waste of wood may be felt as a 
national concern. 

The specimens presented by Mr. Pell were seen, examined, and appreciated by 
many persons from the European continent ; and, as an illustration of the interest 
produced, it may be stated, that a gentleman of France, connected, I believe with 
the delegation from that country, came from the Exhibition to this country for 
the purpose of visiting Mr. Pell, and to purchase the collection of specimens then 
in the Palace. Others, however, had previously applied for them, and Mr. Pell 
had presented them to the Royal Commissioners. 

In these specimens of our forest woods we have another instance of characteristic 
utility, as applicable to the American department. To Mr. Pell are we indebted 
for opening more widely the door to a knowledge of our forests ; and I feel, sir, (to 
Mr. Pell,) much pleasure in presenting to you, on behalf of the New York State 
Agricultural Society, their silver medal, as an additional token of merit to the 

18 



138 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

honorable mention of your woods, transmitted to you from the Royal Commissioners 
of the Industrial Exhibition. 

In the departments of mechanics and machinery, our State has much cause for 
satisfaction. Ingenuity and expertnes3 are almost proverbially connected with the 
American mechanic and artisan ; and though but few specimens were sent from this 
country to the Great Fair, yet of and among the few was Lerow & Blodgett's sewing 
machine — a machine which obtained one of the Prize Medals. The saving of labor 
effected by this ingenious mechanism may be comprehended, when it is known, that 
ten trowsers and six coats may be sewed together by this machine in one day, under 
the guidance of a young girl ; and I am informed that a factory in New York turns 
out three hunched trowsers per day, well made in all respects. To you, gentlemen, 
(Lerow and Blodgett,) the Society now presents its Golden Medal, congratulating 
you upon your successful ingenuity. 

The accuracy and excellency of Tools, made in this State, have attracted ad- 
miration. All who attended the late Fair at Rochester will remember the display 
of edged and other tools by D. R. Barton & Co., and W. W. Bryan, of Rochester, 
and by L. & J. White, of Buffalo ; but American ingenuity, in this department, 
seemed most conspicuous at the World's fair, in the varied forms and excellence of 
agricultural tools and implements. These were exhibited in an extensive variety 
by Messrs. A. B. Allen & Co., of New York, and their merit was acknowledged by 
an honorable mention of their valuable display. 

The perfect construction of agricultural tools comes closely home to the farmer's 
sympathy ; for, though toil is not unpleasant, and his labors are ever beginning and 
never ending, he hails with joy every advance or improvement presented by the 
ingenious mechanic, in the hope that the high value of labor may not hereafter de- 
mand so large a share of his hard earned income.* 

The neat and light, as well as accurately made tools and implements presented by 
the Messrs. Allen, did not fail to meet the approbation of many, and to obtain from 
the Judges of the Exhibition their honorable mention ; in further commemo- 
ration of the event, I have the pleasure to present to them the Silver Medal of the 
New York State Agricultural Society. 

Among all the implements known and prized by the farmer, the Plow is the 
chief; it is the only implement by means of which a thorough farm tillage can be 
accomplished. Without it, the merchant's occupation would be of little comparative 
worth, the artist would sigh for patronage, science would languish, and man be com- 
pelled to forego much of the comfort, luxury, and enjoyment he now commands. 
But fifty years ago the plow, like other implements, was a rough, imperfect tool ;f 
hard, indeed, was the plowman's task, and at best his work was little worth. 
Within twenty years this implement has been brought to great perfection ; it is now 
moulded and shaped to meet our almost every need, to perfect tillage for every want. 
We may not doubt that further improvements will soon be made ; yet, when we ex- 
amine the plow made by Prouty and Means, Boston, it seems bold to challenge im- 
provement. The admirable work performed with this plow by American farmers 
has satisfied every wish, and the Prize Medal which it has secured in Great Britain 
presents the strongest proof of its estimation in that country. 

To you, gentlemen, (Messrs. Prouty & Mears,) I have the pleasure to present this 
Gold Medal, on behalf of the New York State Agricultural Society, and to assure 
you of the satisfaction felt in the success which has attended the efforts of your skill 
and ingenuity. 

During a long series of years the farmers of Europe and more especially of Great 
Britain, and their skilful mechanics, have diligently applied their inventive powers 

* In this State, the farm laborer receives about 25 to 27 per cent, of the income of the farm. In Great Lritain he 
receives about 21 6-100 per cent, of the value of the products, 
f Antique plows may be seen in the Agricultural Rooms. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD S FAIR. 139 

to the construction of a Machine for Reaping G-rain. The fickle climate of the 
British Isles has ever kept the minds of their husbandmen, vibrating between fear 
and hope, through the seasons. of harvest; a machine, therefore, to save time and 
labor in reaping, has been anxiously sought to displace the sickle, which to this day 
is 'in general use, except perhaps, in Berwickshire and a few other localities, where 
an ill-contrived scythe and demi-cradle have been used. In 1815, Mr. Smith, was 
followed by Mr. P. Bell, who was also unsuccessful ; others followed from year to 
year with no better results. In this country, Wilson's machine was for a short time 
used on the banks of the Hudson river, but gave way, in 1836, to Hussey's admir- 
able, simple and durable reaper — a machine now extensively used in this and other 
States. In 1843,* Mr. McGormick perfected his own now popular machine, which, 
at the Industrial Exhibition, in London, has obtained the approbation of agricul- 
turists, who tested its powers and properties under many adverse circumstances, and 
yielded to it their admiration and prompt adoption. 

To Mr. McCormick has been awarded one of the highest honors granted by the 
Royal Commissioners of the Great Fair — the Council Medal. It is an honor, sir, 
(Mr. McCormick,) of which you may be justly proud ; for, your skill and talent 
have given to the world an implement or machine of rare utility, contributing 
largely to the general character of most American objects presented for the world's 
examination — its character of usefulness to man, directly aiding in the supply of 
sustenance at a reduced cost, and indirectly increasing his comforts and welfare. 

The Executive Board of the New York State Agricultural Society, and every 
member of the Association, must experience pleasure of no ordinary degree in wit- 
nessing the expert application of the mechanic arts, their properties and powers, to 
objects closely allied to the high calling of the farmers ; they rejoice in your success, 
and hail it, together with other important and successful objects now presented here 
for their commendation and reward, as a proof that the bright dawn of knowledge 
is darting its rays over this agricultural nation. As an evidence of their satisfaction, 
and on their behalf, I present to you the Gold Medal of the Society. 

The advance of science has recently brought to our knowledge, the preparation 
and use of an article not only important as food, but also essential in the arts. We 
have had occasion to mention the high value of the Indian Corn, and we might with 
advantage allude to many of its uses and properties ; at present we must confine our 
remarks to'a new product from this valuable grain, known as Corn Starch, and yet 
another, as the Fecula of Maize. It was in the summer and fall of 1848, an associ- 
ation of gentlemen in Auburn, established extensive works at Oswego for the pre- 
paration of these important products---an establishment covering an area of 49,000 
square feet, (now covering 53,000 feet, besides other out-buildings.) As the pro- 
prietors have to some extent held unrevealed the process by which they produce a 
starch more pure than the starch of commerce, we may indulge in speculative curi- 
osity ; yet we can hardly doubt their great success is mainly attributable to the sci- 
ence and talent of Messrs. T. Kingsford & Son, who have the entire charge of the 
preparation and manufacture of the articles from the Oswego Starch Factory. The 
rapid and extended demand for these new products presents sufficient evidence of 
their character ; as we are told, that about three millions of pounds of this corn 
starch are demanded annually by the trade, notwithstanding the usual supply of 
wheat starch is undiminished. A remarkable feature of corn starch is the absence 
of impurities j upon being subjected to analysis, it is found that only 2 76-100 parts 
in 1000 are of other matter than pure starch. According to Ure, wheat yields only 
thirty-five to forty per cent, of good starch, a material extensively used in arts and 
manufactures. 

In addition to starch, the Oswego Starch Factory produces from Indian corn a 

* Mr. McCormick claims the date of Ms invention in 1831. Vide Minor's Mechanic's Magazine, 1S34.,, 



140 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT TIIE WORLD S FAIR 

fecnla peculiarly adapted to culinary purposes, presenting to our domestic economy 
one of the most acceptable, pure, and nutritious articles of food. Already has it be- 
come an indispensable household article, and is consumed largely at home and 
abroad. The factory, though in its infancy, consumes annually 150,000 bushels of 
corn, equal to about nine millions of pounds in weight. Hitherto, the quantities of 
starch used for culinary purposes, and in our manufactories, have been produced from 
costly wheats ; though it may be found in many vegetable substances, such as po- 
tatoes, the horse chestnut, and other seeds. In England, where bread stuffs, par- 
ticularly wheat, have been raised in quantities inadequate to the demand for food, 
attempts have been made to convert the viscid matter of lichens into a gum for the 
use of calico printers, paper makers, ink makers — for the stiffening of silks, crapes, 
and the endless variety of dry goods, which, by means of these gums or starch, are 
made to appear of greater consistency. Most of these attempts had partial success; 
yet the making of starch from wheat has not been arrested. 

The Oswego Starch Factory has happily introduced the use of Indian corn, as a 
grain producing a larger proportion of pure amylaceous properties than any other 
known vegetable substance ; proffering to the American manufacturer, another eco- 
nomic advantage, sustaining in a most legitimate manner sound rivalry and compe- 
tition with the world. 

I am not aware whether the Oswego Factory has converted its starch into gum — 
a process easily accomplished by heat, and thus rendered soluble in cold water, 
which cannot be done while in its condition of starch. Here is another result of 
vast importance derivable from our Indian corn ; and we can well conceive that, 
in a short period of time, the advantages now derived from the production of corn 
starch may grow into a national benefit. 

To you, gentlemen, of the Oswego Starch Factory, we feel unfeigned pleasure in 
the presentation of this Golden Medal, for the merit of perfecting an establishment 
of so great importance as the Oswego Starch Factory, and for the Prize Medal from 
the Commissioners and Judges of the Industrial Exhibition. We feel, sir, an equal 
degree of satisfaction in presenting this Silver Medal to your association, in testi- 
mony of our estimation of your second product, the Fecula of Maize, for which you 
received honorable mention from the Judges of the World's Fair. 

Gentlemen — For many ages man depended more on physical force, and less upon 
knowledge. They knew but little of the properties of matter or of the laws which 
govern motion. Industry was inculcated, force was encouraged, patience coveted, 
and, with these attributes, he effected his desires — desires necessarily restricted, and 
demanding much self-denial, because these attributes could never accomplish the 
frequent repetition of his wishes. In this, our day, knowledge excites to experiment, 
and art, springing from science, creates new wants ; these wants, acting upon our 
inventive genius, give the means for supply ; thus, like the reciprocating action of 
a perfect machine, the power and effect are in due proportion. Increasing or accu- 
mulating results are ever creating a necessity for power — for a greater supply to 
meet a greater demand. 

If an opinion may be hazarded thus early as to the effects of the Industrial Exhi- 
bition, seen at this distance, it may not, as before intimated, be as favorable to the 
progress of man's happiness as has been fondly anticipated by many ; because art 
has been stimulated chiefly in the production of articles which minister to luxury, 
to ornament, and to the non-essentials of truth and virtue in a people ; and excess 
of luxury has never failed to bring distress upon the earth, upon nations as well as 
individuals. The remark is true, that "as the mind is enlightened it becomes more 
dignified ;" but, if the mind submit to the enervating influence of ease and luxury, 
its vigor fails — its powers become latent. 

In connection with these observations, we may notice the character of nations, as 
displayed in their respective offerings at the World's Fair. True the highest effort 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 141 

of mind was there ; the vigor of British intellect was conspicuous — European skill 
displayed the most surprising efforts of ingenuity — and Asiatic art secured the at- 
tention of admiring crowds. Our countrymen, in plain and simple forms, presented 
offerings whereby man should be sustained, and his every essential want gratified ; 
while no unnecessary or enervating appetite or desire was kindled, or gratified. The 
unalloyed happiness of the human family seemed to be the aim of American effort — 
nearly all, possessing a magic influence, leading by their powers to wealth, fame, 
and honor. It may be said also that the offerings from the United States exhibited 
a combination of theory and practice, proving (with few exceptions) that science and 
experiment go hand in hand ; repressing the bold presumption of mere enthusiasts, 
who would direct all things by their crude, abstract, and ill-digested notions. 

As the " end of all science is to enrich human life with useful inventions and 
arts,"* we have reason to rejoice in the skill of our fellow citizens, as recently dis- 
played and rewarded in Great Britain ; we have reason to rejoice in the elevation 
of mind derived from study, as well as from the practical operations of the factory 
or work shop ; we have reason to rejoice in the advance of knowledge in our happy 
and favored land. While thus rejoicing, let us not expose ourselves to the errors 
of self-sufficiency and arrogance ; let us ever bear in mind that whatever talent we 
possess, whatever power or influence we wield, they are trusts committed to us — 
their number and importance being evidence of confidence reposed in the possessor, 
and of the high hopes and expectations looked for in return. "We all have a duty to 
perform — none beyond our respective powers — for that duty is in proportion to the 
talent each may hold ; to perform our respective duties, we have been commanded 
and most affectionately invited. If we neglect it, a rigid accountability awaits us j 
if we obey, who can recount the high reward of that obedience. 



NOTES. 

The Exhibition in London had for its declared objects "the furtherance of every 
branch of human industry, by the comparison of the processes employed and of re- 
sults obtained by all the nations of the earth ;" " the promotion of kindly inter- 
national feelings, by the practical illustration of the advantages which may be de- 
rived by each country from what has been done by others." 

David Dick (J. E. Holmes, Matteawan, N. Y., Agent) was awarded a Council 
Medal for his Anti-Friction Presses, which were among the most valuable of the 
machinery on exhibition ; and the right to manufacture and use the machines in 
Great Britain and her Colonies was disposed of at a very large price. The award 
to Mr. D. having been paid previous to the Annual Meeting, his name does not ap- 
pear among those to whom Medals was presented. 

On the delivery to Mr. B. Kirtland, by the President, of the Silver Cup awarded 
him, Mr. Kirtland acknowledged, in very appropriate terms, the compliment which 
had been paid him by the Society. 

Mr. Johnson, on behalf of Messrs. Prouty and Mears, and of Mr. McCormick ; 
Solon Robinson, Esq., editor of the Plow, on behalf of Messrs. A. B. Allen & Co. ; 
and Hon. George Underwood, on behalf of the Oswego Starch Factory, made ap- 
propriate remarks in acknowledgment of the awards which had been made to the 
respective parties. 



142 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 



CONCLUSION — LIST OF PRIZE AWARDS. 

Our task is now complete, since we have brought to a close, our subject of 
" American Superiority at the World's Fair," with the return of the successful com- 
petitors to their native shores. We might, undoubtedly, have made a more regular 
publication, by assuming the narrative style, and perhaps have better pleased the lite- 
rary critic, by placing before his eyes a volume, divided secundan artem into textual 
Chapters and Parts, than in arranging our shreds and patches, collected from the 
outpourings of a thousand minds, into the present form of a veritable " Scrap 
Book." But what, in that case, we had gained in regularity, we should have lost in 
force. Historical narrative is naturally cold, or if the author occasionally warm 
with his subject into enthusiasm, it is but as a " flash in the pan," — an effort purely 
evanescent — and he quickly relapses into the steady, dull, jog-trot pace of writers 
of his vocation. Quite different is the newspaper chronicler of the times. He paints 
from living, acting, visible nature, and when he comments on passing events, like 
Pythia on her tripod, he is " filled with the God within," and all he says bears the 
impress of popular opinion, and sentiment, and will. He, therefore, who consults 
these pages for information relative to America at the World's Fair, may be said to 
lay his finger on the pulse of our country — nay more, the hearts of two mighty na- 
tions vibrate beneath his touch. This is no exaggeration ; for, will he not find here 
recorded, the hopes and fears of the two grand divisions of the Anglo-Saxon race, as 
they rose and fell, during the excitement of that anxious time ? Will he not hear 
the swell of triumph and the wail of defeat, as they successively agitated the two 
greatest commercial and maritime countries on the globe, in the memorable struggle 
for precedence, in the path of industry and philanthropy, in 1851 ? And these records 
are given to us, not by the contemplative man, from the quiet of his retirement, 
but by contemporary writers, with the dust of the arena still clinging to their gar- 
ments, each of whom, in relation to the incidents of the drama he relates, may lift 
up his head, and proudly add "quorum pars fui." Or, in the still more expressive 
vernacular of the Western man, the Hoosier or the Buckeye, he may exclaim 
" Stranger ! I was thar myself, and put for home at the eend." 

We subjoin a list of the successful competitors among our fellow citizens at the 
World's Fair, compiled from the official documents, published in the London Times 
of Oct. 16, 1851, prefacing it with a few remarks on the character of the prizes 
awarded on that occasion. 

There had been thirty-four acting juries, whose duty was to decide on the merit 
of the articles exhibited. They were composed equally of British subjects and for- 
eigners. The chairmen of these juries were formed into a Council, to determine the 
conditions on which prizes were to be avparded, and to secure, as far as possible, 
uniformity in the action of the juries. It was ultimately decided that two kinds 
of medals should be awarded. The first (the Prize Medal) should be conferred, 
wherever a certain standard of excellence in production or workmanship had been at- 
tained — utility, beauty, cheapness, adaptation to particular markets, and other ele- 
ments of merit being taken into consideration, according to the nature of the object. 
This medal was to be awarded by the juries. In regard to the other and larger 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD' S FAIR. 143 

medal,, the conditions of its award were, some important novelty of invention or ap- 
plication, either in material or processes of manufacture, or originality combined 
with great beauty of design. It was not to be conferred for excellence of production 
or workmanship alone, however eminent. This was to be awarded by the Council 
of Chairmen, and is called the " Council Medal." The number of Prize Medals 
awarded was 2,918 ; of Council Medals 170. Honorable mention was made of 
other exhibitors, not entitled to medals ; and to a few, certain sums of money were 
presented. The whole number of exhibitors was 17,000. The total of visitors to the 
Exhibition was 6,201,856, among whom were 466 schools, and 23 parties of Agri- 
cultural laborers. The entire sum received was £505,107 7s. 6d., or about two and 
a half millions of dollars. Of this, £356,808 Is., was taken at the door. About 
£90 of bad silver was taken — nearly all on the half crown and five shilling days, 
— that is, when the richer and more exclusive portion of the community visited it. 



LIST OF PRIZE AWARDS. 

Council Medallists are in Capitals. 

Jury 1. Mining, Quarrying, Metallurgical operations and Mineral Products. 
1. Adirondac Manufacturings Company, Jersey City, N. J; Superior cast steel 

and iron. 
Morris, Jones & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. ; The best boiler plate iron. 
New Jersey Exploring and Mining Company, Newark, N. J. ; Zinc ores, 
Iron (Franklinite) ores. Smelting process, &c. 

Jury 2. Chemical and Pharmaceutical processes and operations generally. 
Power & Weightman, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Superior chemicals. 

Jury 3. Substances used as food. 
BORDEN GAIL, Jr., Galveston, Texas. The preparation called Biscuit Meat. 
Barnes, W., Rutland, Vt. ; Excellent maple sugar. 
Bell, T., Morrisania, N. Y. ; Superior soft wheat from Gennessee 
Dean, L., Manchester, Vt.; Excellent maple sugar, fff 
Dill & Mulcahey, Richmond, Va. ; Superb Cavendish tobacco. 
Duffield, O, Lousiville, Ky. ; Exquisite ham. 
Grant, J. H., Richmond, Va. ; Superb Cavendish tobacco. 
Hecker & Brother, Croton Mills, New York City ; Excellent Gennessee flour 
Heriot, E. J., Charleston, S. C. ; Fine Carolina rice. 
Kirtland, B. B., Greenbush, N. Y. ; 34 choice varieties of Maize. 
New York State Agricultural Society, Albany, N. Y. ; Fine collection of 

Wheats. 
Raymond & Schuyler, West Farms, N. Y. ; Fine flour (thirds.) 
Robinson, P., Richmond, Va. ; Superb Cavendish tobacco. 
Schooley & Hough, Cincinnati, Ohio ; Exquisite ham. 

Jury 4. Vegetable and Animal substances chiefly used in manufactures, as im- 
plements, or for ornament. 
Bond, S., Memphis, Tenn. ; Cotton. 
Cockerill, J., Cincinnati, Ohio; Wool. 
Colegate, W. & Co. ; New York City ; Starch. 
Ewing, J. H, Washington, Pa. ; Wool. 
Hampton, W., Charleston, S. C. ; Upland Cotton. 



144 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Hicks, G., New York City ; Tillandsia Usnoides. 

Holmes, G-. L., Memphis, Term. ; Cotton. 

Hotchkiss, H. G., & L. B. Lyons, N. Y. ; Oil of peppermint. 

Jones, J. R., Charleston, S. C. ; Cotton. 

Jones, J. V. ditto ditto 

Kimber, A. M. & Co., 75 North Front st., Philadelphia, Pa. ; Wool. 

McCleod, W. W., Charleston, S. C. ; Cotton. 

Maryland, State or ; Collection of Produce. 

Merriweather, J. B., Montgomery, Ala. ; Cotton. 

Nailor, J., Vicksburgh, Miss. ; Cotton. 

Oswego Starch Factory, Oswego, N. Y. ; Starch. 

Perkins & Brown, Akron, Ohio. Wool. 

Pore, J., Memphis, Tenn.; Cotton. 

Seabrook, W., Charleston, S. C. ; Sea Island cotton. 

Thompson, Rev. Z., Burlington, Vt. ; Vermont woods. 

Jury 5. Carriages. 
Childs, C, Boston, Mass.; A slide top buggy or phaeton; enamelled leather 

apron of very superior quality — the whole highly finished. 
Watson, Gr. W., Philadelphia, Pa. ; A sporting wagon, a beautiful vehicle, 

highly finished. 

Jury 6. Manufacturing machines and tools. 
DICK, D., New York City; Anti-Friction Press, and various engineers' tools and 

presses. 
Blodgett, S. & Co., Fitchburg, N. Y. ; Sewing machine. 
Earle, T. K. & Co., Boston, Mass. ; Card clothing ; Machine cards. 
Hayden, W. Willimantic, Conn. ; Drawing regulator for cotton. 
Lowell Machine Shop, Lowell, Mass. ; Self-acting lathe and Power loom. 
Morey, C, Boston, Mass.; Eastman's stone-cutting machine. 
Starr, C, New York City; Bookbinding machine. 
Woodbury, J. P., East Boston, Mass. ; Wood-planing, tongueing and grooving 

machine. 

Jury 7. Civil Engineering, Architectural and Building contrivances. 
New York Iron Bridge Company, New York City; Model of Ryder's Patent 
Iron Bridge. 

Jury 8. Naval Architecture and Military Engineering; Ordnance armor and 
accoutrements. 
National Institute of Washington, Washington, D. C. ; Models of ships of 

war and merchant vessels. 
Colt, S., Hartford, Conn. ; Repeating Fire arms. 

Jury 9. Agricultural and Horticultural machines and implements. 
McCORMICK, C. H, Chicago, 111. ; Reaping machine. 
Prouty & Mears, Boston, Mass. ; Plough. 

Jury 10. Philosophical Instruments, and processes depending on their use, musi- 
cal, horological and surgical instruments. 

BOND, W. & SON, Boston, Mass. ; Clock. Invention of a new mode of observ- 
ing astronomical phenomena. 
Bache, A. D., Washington, D. C. ; Balance. 
Brady, M. B., New York City. Daguerreotypes. 



AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 145 

Burt, W. A., Mount Vernon, Macomb Co., Mich.; Solar compass, surveying 

instruments. 
Ericsson, J., New York City; Sea Lead, Marine Barometer, Pyrometer, &c. 
Lawrence, M. B., New York City. Daguerreotypes. 
St. John, John B., Buffalo, N. Y. ; Detector Compass. 
Whipple, J. A., Boston, Mass. ; Daguerreotype of the moon. 

Jury 10a. Musical instruments. 
Checkering, J., Boston, Mass.; A square pianoforte, and Jury think highly 

of his grand piano forte. 
Eisenbrant, C. H., Baltimore, Md. ; Clarionets and flutes. 
Gemunder, G-., Boston, Mass. ; For a Joseph Guarnerius violin (chiefly,) and 

for three other violins and a viola. 
Meyer, C, Philadelphia, Pa. ; For two splendid piano fortes. 
Nunns & Clark, New York City ; A magnificent 7 octave square piano forte. 

Jury 10c. Surgical Instruments. 
Palmer, B. F., Philadelphia, Pa. ; Artificial leg. 

Jury 11. Cotton fabrics. 
Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, Manchester, N. H. ; An assortment of 

drillings, tickings, sheetings, and cotton flannels. 
Willimantic Duck_, Manufacturing Company, Willimantic, Conn. ; Cotton 

sail cloth. 

Jury 12. Woollen and worsted. 
Gilbert & Stevens, Boston, Mass. ; Flannels. 

Jury 15. Mixed fabrics, including shawls, but exclusive of worsted goods 
Lawrence, Stone & Co., Boston, Mass. ; Tartans made from native wool. 

Jury 16. Leather, including saddles and harness, skins, fur, feathers and hair. 
Baker, B., Boston, Mass. ; Light harness of superior workmanship. 
Crawford, H. M., Philadelphia, Pa. ; Calf skins tanned in oak bark. 
Hickey & Tull, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Portmanteau. 
Lacey & Phillips, Philadelphia, Pa. ; a splendid ease of harness. " 
Wisdom, Russell & Whitmore, Cleveland, Ohio ; Specimens of curled hair for 

furniture. 

Jury 17. Paper and Stationery, Printing and Bookbinding. 
Herrick, J. K., New York City ; Superior ruling of account books. 
Howe, S. G., Boston, Mass. ; A system of characters slightly angular in form, 

without capitals, for the blind. 

Jury 19. Tapestry, including carpets and floor cloths, lace, and embroidery. 
Albro & Hoyt, New York City ; Floor cloths. 

Jury 20. Articles of clothing, for personal and domestic use. 
Addington, W. H., Norfolk, Va. ; Shoes for mining purposes. 
Haight, Mrs. W., New York City ; A splendidly made shirt. 
Jeffers, W. H., (the workmen of) ; Ladies' boots and shoes, and honorable 

mention to exhibitor. 

Jury 21. Cutlery and Edge Tools. 
Brown & Wells, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Tools, Braces and Bits. 

19 



146 AMERICAN SUPERIORITY AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

North Wayne Scythe Company, Boston, Mass. ; Scythes. 
Simmons, D. & Co., New York City j Axes and other edge tools. 

Jury 22. Iron and general hardware. 
Adams & Co., Boston, Mass. ; Bank Lock. 
Arrowsmith, G. A., New York City; Permutation Lock. 
Chilson, Richardson & Co., Boston, Mass. ; Hot-air Furnace. 
Cornelius & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. ; Chandeliers. 

Bay & Newell, New York City j Parautoptic permutating Lock. Special approva 
Herring, S. C, 376 Greenwich st., New York City; Salamander Safe. 
Howland, C, New York City ; Bell Telegraph. 
McGregor & Lee, Cincinnati, Ohio ; Bank Locks. 

Jury 24. Glass. 
Brooklyn Flint Glass Company, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Flint Glass. 

Jury 28. Manufactures from animal and vegetable substances, not being woven 
or felt. 

GOCvDYEAB, C, New Haven, Conn. ; India Rubber. 
Fenn, J., New York City; Comb. 

Hayward Rubber Co., Colchester, Conn. ; India Rubber shoes. 
Loring, G., Concord, Mass. ; Water Pails. 
Moulton. S. C, Boston, Mass. ; India Rubber goods. 
Pratt, Julius & Co., New York City ; Ivory Veneers. 

Jury 29. Miscellaneous manufactures and small wares 
Bazin, Xavier, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Fancy Soaps. 
Hauel, Jules, Philadelphia, Pa; Toilet Soaps. 
Louderback, M. J., Cincinnati, Ohio; Preserved Peaches. 
St. John, J. R., Buffalo, N. Y.; Soap. 
Taylor, H. P. & W. C, Transparent Soap. 

Jury 30. Fine Arts, Sculpture, &c. 
Power, Hiram, Florence, Italy ; Statue of the Greek Slave in marble. 

A money award of £50 sterling, was decreed to J. S. Wood, of Boston, Mass., 
for the expense incurred by him, in constructing his Piano- Violin. 



The Author of the present work cannot dismiss it from his hands, without profiting by the 
opportunity thus afforded, to express his warm acknowledgments to Messrs. A. Brett & Co., 
Lithographers, Goldsmith's Hall, Library Street, Philadelphia, for the admirable manner in 
which they have executed his design of a Chrome-Lithograph picture of "American Supe- 
riority at the World's Fair " To say they have realized his expectations, would be faint praise, 
and totally inadequate to their merit. The fact is, they have greatly surpassed them; have 
produced a work, which for accuracy of drawing and brilliancy of coloring, he conscientiously 
believes, has not been exceeded in the whole history of this novel branch of the Fine Arts. Cer- 
tainly, nothing in that specialty, has ever been produced in this country, that can be put in 
comparison with it. The connoisseur will find in it specimens of almost every variety of the 
pictorial art — Architectural and Mechanical drawing, the Human figure, Landscape, Marino, 
and Flower painting, &c. &c. To Mr. C. Brett,* the American public are indebted for the 
introduction into this country of the new and beautiful art of Chromo-Lithography ; and, to 
his masterly skill as a printer, on which the whole success of the picture depended, the 
author owes the tribute of this open expression of his private gratitude. Messrs. A. Brett & 
Co's. establishment is earnestly recommended to the liberal patronage of his fellow citizens. 

* We find in the records of the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania, that a silver medal was awarded to Mr. Brett 
in 18-18, for '• printing in colors." This is the earliest public mention of Chromo-Lithography in the history of the 
Fine Arts in America. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Adirondac Steel and Iron, . . .46, 134 
Amoskeag Manufacturing Co., ... 58 

American Progress, 127 

America at the World's Fair, ... 84 
Anti-Friction-Press, Dick's, . . . .28 

Agricultural Produce, 57 

Artificial Leg, Palmer's, . 50, 121, 137 
America looking up over the West, . . 89 

American Minerals, 105 

Anxious Mother, and Policeman at the 

Crystal Palace, 102 

American Woods, Pell's, 137 

Architecture, Naval, 100 

Air-Warming and Ventilating Furnace, 

Chilson's, 53 

Agricultural Society of New York, and 

the World's Fair 132 

Braces & Bits, Brown & Wells's, ■. 42 
Bookbinding Machine, Starr's, ... 53 

Britain's Verdict, 124 

Balance, Professor Alex. Bache's, . . 55 
Bell Telegraph, Howland's, ... 56 
Brooklyn Flint Glass Company, 57, 105 
Bulwer, Sir Henry, and the U. S., . 84 
Banquet in New York to the officers of 

the Frigate St. Lawrence, ... 94 
Clock and Spring Governor, Bond & 

Sons', 19 

Chemicals, Power & Weightman's, . 33 
Chandelier, Cornelius, Baker & Co.'s, 42 

Colonel Colt to John Bull 63 

Collins, E. K. Esq., . • 108 

Cotton Drawing Frame, Hayden's, . 41 
Daguerreotypes, Brady's, .... 19 
Dinner in New York to George Steers, 

Builder of the Yacht America, . . 71 
Douglass, Hon. S. A., on Machinery, 104 
Dinner in New York to Owners of Yacht 

America — Commodore J. C. Stevens, 

Col. Hamilton, and E. A. Stevens, 

Esq., .......... 110 

English Views on American Genius, . 97 
Edge Tools, Simmon's & Co.'s, . . 42 

Flutes, Eisenbrant's, 33 

Fastboy, Dr. and Mr. Hobbs, ... 92 

Fast Man — American, 99 

Greek Slave, Power's, . . .40, 106, 126 



PAGE 

Greeley, Hon. Horace, on Council and 

Prize Medals, 128 

Hams, Schooley & Hough's, .... 24 
Hobbs, the American Artizan, . . 66 
Institute of Civil Engineers, and Col. 

Colt, . . . 64 

India Rubber Fabrics, Goodyear's, 16, 86 
Indian Corn, B. B. Kirtland's, of Green- 
bush, New York, 135 

Iron Bridge of the N. Y. Iron Bridge 

Company, 38 

John Bull to Col. Colt, 63 

London Examiner on Noble and Dandy 

Yachtmen, . 101 

Lumsden's Challenge, 81 

Lathe, Self-Acting, Lowell Machine 

Shop, 59 

Maryland Institute, and B. F. Palmer, 

Esq., 81 

Meat Biscuit, Borden's, 29 

Ocean Steamers of New York, ... 13 
Oil Cloth, Albro & Hoyt's, .... 49 
Philosophical Instruments, Ericsson's, 35 
Plow, Prouty & Mears's, . . 47, 103, 138 

Pilot Boats, New York, 13 

Patent Powder Proof Lock, Hall's . 27 
Paratouptic Bank Lock, Newell's, 29, 90 
Pistol, Colt's Repeating, ... 30, 62 
Piano Forte, Nunns & Clark's, . . 32 

Piano Forte, Pirrson's, 136 

Peabody, George, Esq., 131 

Peace, versus War 125 

Peel, Col., in Parliament, on the Yacht 

America, 89 

Preserved Peaches, Louderback's, . . 34 
Planing, Tongueing, and Grooving Ma- 
chine, Woodbury's, 43 

Riddle, Edward, Esq., and the Executive 

Committee, 130 

Rives, Hon. W. C, on American 

Prowess, 77 

Royal Yacht Club " In a Fix," ... 79 
Reaping and Mowing Machine, McCor- 

mick's, 14, 139 

Scythes, North Wayne Scythe Com- 
pany's, 49 

Stone Dressing Machine, Eastman's, 34 
(147) 



*.. 



148 



PAGE 

Soap Transparent, Taylor's, ... 48 
Salamander Safe, Herring's, . 25,107 
Soaps Toilette, Jules Hauel's, ... 59 
Sporting Wagon, Watson's, ... 56 

Solar Compass, Birt's, 51 

Starch, Pure Oswego, 33, 139 

Sewing Machine, Lerow & Blod- 

gett's, 47, 138 

Saddlery and Harness, Baker's, . . 43 
Service of Plate of California Gold, 52, 105 
Seward, Hon. W. H., on American 

Steamers, Sea., 84 

Smith, Capt. Nelson, Collingwood, St. 

Vincent, on Seamanship and the Trim 

of the America, (a burlesque,) . . 93 



PACB 

Tools, Allen & Company's 138 

Tartan, Lawrence, Stone & Company's, 34 

Violins, Gemunder's, 32 

Western Man in the Crystal Palace, . 88 
Webster, Hon. Daniel, on National 

Prowess, 109 

Young America and Old England, . 125 

Yacht" Race, 83 

" Victory 103 

Yachts of the New York Yacht Club, 13, 14 

" of Boston 14 

" of America, Clipper Ships, &c, 7 
Yankee Skill on Land and Sea, . . 87 
Yankee Doodle, . 91 



THE EXD. 



jUl*»** 



(-U*- * ' " / •'O) 



O u * 



& 






Qd * 






.0 * p 

o 



Q* ' 






<£ 



% [J? % /% 



J'% ■'/% ./% /% 

G0 Vr^% '■ £ % * 






*^ vV 



S ^ Qt 















^ °- 









,*,# ** 












r /% ./% /^ 






V c % 


















V ^ 









J? ^ 



-%#* ; 



-.# 









^ -.1 









« *p V t- <g $, « -^ v ,. pj ^ « <p 






^^ 



<►* ^ 



%.-♦ '.-;/ 



.- / °-« 



f <i$- 



\^ : r M£"z'\^ 



«£ ^ 

^ ^ V 










'> 



<H Q, 



vV 






s > -tf 






w r 






%;,# ^ 



# 9*. 



d ^ - M. K 



>^ 



\/ : 









^0' 













^: ^^.*; 






•A 



^--■.^ 






\4 . >\^ 






^.0^ 

^ ^ 

























I 

./ 



5 - *< ^ 



^ " " ^ 



0^ .^ 



^ ^ ' 






V>' ,—'o^ 



^ 



*TsV^ 




v ,-o/V^ 



•!/' 






^ .^^A," ^ 



.V 



'%<$' : '\$ •] 













/:^..V' ! 4 ^,..,%^ 






^0^ 



8 "^ 






d o^ 












**>A 



-/:■ 




• 4 






.fj^ ^ ' r ^ ^ ^ ,'^ ^ 






